For the third straight meeting, the Waconda USD 272 Board of Education continued their effort to update the district policy book. About 15-minutes were spent at last night's January meeting to go through Section C. The board made several minor wording changes in Section C-E which deals specifically with the School Superintendent. The board also discussed Section C-E-F at length but made no changes. Section C-E-F deals with expense reimbursement of the Superintendent. Finally, Section C-A-N was removed because it duplicates the wording in Section C-Y-A. The two parts of the policy book both dealt with document production.
During the Superintendent's Report Troy Damman updated his board on the status of the lawsuit filed against the state over funding for public schools. Damman said he expects a court decision in the lawsuit soon. He also said the outcome is being followed by several other states that are looking at the case as a precedent.
Also in the Superintendent's report, good news regarding the recent Fire Marshal's visit to the district's buildings. The report, according to Damman, included just a handful of minor violations. He called it the best fire safety report he's ever seen.
The board also had the opportunity last night to make a decision on a convection oven that went down just before Christmas break at the high school in Downs. The board was presented several options - (1) purchasing a new oven at a cost of $5,000 to $10,000, (2) replace the valves that went bad on the oven at a cost of about $1,000 and taking the oven out of commission during that time or (3) accept an oven from the old school at Tipton for $100. The board decided to take door number-3 but also look closely at the other two options since the oven coming from Tipton is older than the 30-year old unit it will be replacing.
The last action item of the evening was the board offering to renew Damman's contract as Superintendent. The new contract calls for a two-year extension.
And finally, some very good reports from the two Principals regarding honor roll recipients based on grades from the just completed first semester and recognition of Diana Roe who runs the cafeteria at Lakeside Elementary at Glen Elder. Roe won an award from the State of Kansas for her recipe for Taco Soup.