Pellston Public Schools Regular Board of Education Meeting Recorded minutes for Monday, November 12, 2007

A regular meeting of the Board of Education of Pellston Public Schools was held in the Gerald E. Mallory Board of Education Conference Room on Monday, November 12, 2007. President Kathy Smith called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Members present: Arnold Burkhart, John Ritter, Christopher Rybinski, Ronald Wolford, Connie Dzedzie and Jim Milbrandt.
Member(s) absent: None. The Pledge of Allegiance and prayer were led by Connie Dzedzie .

It was moved by Ron Wolford and supported by Chris Rybinski to accept the minutes of the regular meeting held on Monday, October 8, 2007. Motion carried 7-0.

It was moved by Connie Dzedzie and supported by Jim Milbrandt to approve payment of the bills for the months of October and November 2007, in the amount of $99,624.44 with payments being made from the following funds: General Fund, $77,552.63; Athletics, $ 3,994.43; and Food Service, $ 18,077.38. The motion carried 7- 0.

It was moved by Connie Dzedzie and supported by Ron Wolford to approve payment of the payrolls for the dates of November 9, November 21 & December 7, 2007. The motion carried 7-0 .

It was moved by Connie Dzedzie and supported by Arne Burkhart to approve payment of the benefits and utilities from November 13 through December 10, 2007. The motion carried 7-0 .

The PTO Report was given by Kathy Smith. The PTO approved bussing for the MEAP rewards trip for 3,4,5 grade students to attend a movie in Petoskey. They have purchased baskets for the Christmas theme baskets fund raiser. Pie fund raiser delivery will be Nov. 13th.

The Pellston Sports Boosters Report was given by Connie Dzedzie. The Boosters met on Nov. 12th and have been very busy with tournament concession stands. They are planning a couple of fund raisers and recruiting new members.

Principal’s Reports

Tony Basanese reported that the Halloween dance was very successful. MEAP make-up was just completed. The results will be delayed due to State mandated retakes. Middle School enrollment is continuing to grow.

Terry Emery is excited to report girls volleyball won regional tournament. Students have been loud with support but appropriate. The High School finished the MME re-test. 17 students took the retest. The high school has been doing student meetings for interventions involving Mrs. Burkhart, Mrs. Frentz and Mrs. Emery. There has been a good response with parent meetings. Library and computer lab are open during lunch and card playing is being allowed, as long as no betting takes place. Very positive response!

Donna Baszler reported MEAP re-takes and make-ups are finished! Kdg. Teachers are taking training in 3-tiered support group to pinpoint struggling readers because the goal of Adequate Yearly Progress is 100 % readers by 2014. Movie day MEAP reward for 3,4, 5 graders will be on Friday. This will be changed if school is closed due to a volleyball state tournament. The Wax Museum and Halloween parade were very successful. Field trips this month included a trip to the Antique Flywheelers for 4th grade and recycling event at transfer station for 4th grade, as well.. Kdg-5 were treated to a safety program by the Pellston firefighters. Deputy Corey Rice also did a safe Halloween program.

Board Recognitions & Remembrances

The Board acknowledged the financial donation by Pop Warner for the Homecoming Parade.

The Board congratulated the Pellston High School Girls’ Volleyball Team on their District and Regional Volleyball wins!

New Business

A. Student Disciplinary Hearing It was moved by Connie Dzedzie and supported by Ron Wolford to enter a closed session to hold a Student Disciplinary Hearing. The motion passed 7-0. The Board requested the audience to leave the room and began the closed session at 7:45 P.M. to discuss a student disciplinary matter.

The Board returned to open session and invited the audience to return at 8:02 P.M.

The Board supported the idea of having the Bus Supervisor, Debbie Rose, ride the buses on a routine basis to check on what goes on, during each route. The Board will support tough discipline by the drivers.

B. It was moved by Arne Burkhart and supported by Ron Wolford to approve a bid from Spierling Trucking in the amount of $12,380. for excavation, foundation and crawl space walls, as well as a bid from Preston-Feather Building Centers for building materials in the amount of $37,405.17 for the Building Trades program home project in Pellston. The motion carried 7-0.

C. It was moved by Ron Wolford and supported by Arne Burkhart to approve the resolution calling for a Public Meeting on Monday, November 26, 2007 to consider the implementation of a summer tax levy, effective on July 1, 2008 on one-half of all annual school property taxes, including debt service. The motion carried 7-0.

D. It was moved by Ron Wolford and supported by Chris Rybinski to approve MSRP participating resolution accepting $37,300 for eligible MSRP children in Pellston. The allocation will be used as follows: $30,600 will be allocated for educational services at Bear Cub Child Care Center in Pellston and $6,800 will be used for the home visit program. The motion carried 7- 0.

E. It was moved by Connie Dzedzie and supported by Arne Burkhart to approve a contract with Bear Cub Early Child Care Center for $51,000 to be split in three equal payments beginning in November 2007. The motion carried 7-0.

Personnel

A. It was moved by Connie Dzedzie and supported by Ron Wolford to approve working agreements for the Bus Drivers Association, Support Supervisors and Executive Secretary for the 2007-08 year as recommended. The motion carried 7-0.

B. It was moved by Ron Wolford and supported by Chris Rybinski to approve contract extensions for Superintendent Tebbe, Principals Emery, Basanese, and Baszler for 2008-09 and wage and salary improvements for administrators, as recommended by the Personnel Committee. The motion carried 7-0.

C. It was moved by Chris Rybinski and seconded by Ron Wolford to accept the letter of agreement to postpone parent teacher conferences until Tuesday, November 20, 2007, due to the fact that students and their families may be traveling to Battle Creek for the State Semi-Finals Volleyball tournament. The motion passed 7-0.

Information

The regular monthly reports were reviewed as submitted by departmental supervisors including Transportation, Athletic, Food Service and Trust and Agency.

Praise was given to the transportation department for passing bus inspections with a score of 100%.

.Adjournment

There being no further business, it was moved by Ron Wolford and supported by Connie Dzedzie to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 7-0 and the meeting adjourned at 9:09 P.M.