KVSV

MONDAY JULY 13TH USD 273 BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING

 

Unified School District #273

July Board of Education Meeting

Monday, July 13, 2015

By Terry Bailey

 

The USD #273 Board of Education conducted their July meeting Monday evening, July 13 at the Board Office on North Independence Avenue.

Many of the items on the agenda were of the “housekeeping” variety with the closing of the past school year books and the beginning of the new school year.

Superintendent Jeff Travis reported that the addition at the Beloit Elementary School is showing good progress these days. He said that this is the time when the many segments of many projects start to come together.

Travis said the bus contract for transportation services was on the agenda and that he would be asking for a vote to accept the contract later on in the meeting. Included in the transportation is a 54 passenger “over the road” bus to be used by athletic teams and others. A 24 passenger bus will also be available for travel away from Beloit.

A three percent decrease in health insurance premiums will be expected for the upcoming school year. However the Board will need to pay an additional $20 per month per person. Premiums will be reduced from $173 to $144 per month for a single plan. Family premiums will fall from $592 to $572 per month.

Jeff Bates, Beloit Jr. Sr. High business teacher, addressed the Board on behalf of the Employee Council. The topic of his presentation was uncompensated leave for educational staff members. Currently, Board policy allows teaching staff two personal leave days each year and eight sick leave days for a total of ten compensated leave days each year. These days can be carried over to the next school year if all the days are not used. There is a maximum number of days that can accumulate.

Bates told the Board that his proposal originated with the Employee Council and is not “set in stone” but is a discussion paper. In addition to the ten paid leave days currently in place, the Employee Council is requesting up the seven uncompensated leave days for teachers with over twelve years of teaching experience in the district. The teacher would need to submit in writing a request by July 1 for the number of uncompensated leave days expected for the school year. In a nutshell, the teacher would request a certain number of unpaid days for the upcoming school year and, if approved, their monthly salaries would be reduced accordingly. The Board would save money when teachers ask for uncompensated leave days. It was unclear who would be teaching the students when the teachers are not in school. Should a teacher use all ten compensated leave days and an additional seven uncompensated days they could be out of the classroom 17 days or about three and one-half weeks.

The Board took the information provided by Bates and will deliberate the request.

The new, but not so new, Jr. Sr. High School principal, Casey Seyfert, reported on summer activities at the high school. Forty-four students completed Drivers Education class. New carpeting and new tile have been installed in the Commons area. Darrell Kelly’s paint crew repainted the entire Commons area also. According to Seyfert it looks like a totally different area.

The parking lot at the high school has been recovered with asphalt oil and rock and then rolled multiple times. He anticipates about 29 boys on the high school football squad and 27 on the junior high football squad. Volleyball numbers are projected at 35 or so at the high school level and about the same for junior high girls.

Brady Dean, new part-time elementary principal and full-time NCTC Director brought the Board up to speed on all the many changes in his area. The new playground equipment has arrived and installed and fences built around the play areas. He said there are some drainage concerns but he is hoping to solve that problem in the near future.

One noteworthy change approved by the Board was a change in their meeting time. Currently the Board meetings begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. By a unanimous vote, the Board approved a new starting time of 6:30 p.m.

The Board also approved a time and day for Beloit High graduation. Once again, by a unanimous vote, high school graduation for the upcoming school year will be Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. Once again, Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 11:00 a.m.

The Board voted to accept a five-year contract with the D. S. Bus Company for the transportation needs of USD #273. The contract will be reviewed and renewed on a yearly basis during the five year contract period.

Superintendent Travis told the Board he would like to review the 2015-16 budget with them but he could not do so. At this point he knows that schools will be receiving block grants in the same amount as last year to fund the schools. He was coolly optimistic that necessary information and facts and figures will be forthcoming soon from Topeka.

 

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA