The Hay Springs School Board met on Monday, February 12. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. with all school board members in attendance - President Greg Heiting, Justin Anderson, David Russell, Miriam Kearns, Katie Stock, and Jim Varvel. Also in attendance were superintendent George Clear, principal Tara Digmann, business manager Staci Wolken, and Larel Reimann, Technology Director.
During the Administrative Reports, Superintendent Clear said he had been pleasantly surprised to receive a $31,112.33 payment from the state apportionment. This is the district’s share of the Temporary School fund which is based on the census of children ages 5 to 18 living in the district.
He also stressed that the administration has worked really hard to get all football games moved to Fridays, with the exception of one Thursday game, in the next two years. That had been a goal of his, so that football wouldn’t interfere with instruction.
Clear reminded the board that all office holders needed to file for re-election this month for the May 14 primary election. Those members were Greg Heiting, Miriam Kearns, and Jim Varvel.
Heiting responded that he would not be running again.
Clear spoke for a bit about the electric bus. The bus should be finished at the factory by March 15th and could be delivered around the second week of April. He has spoken with NPPD about the need for an electric pole to be put in at the school.
Principal Digmann mentioned that she had recently been to Honor Band, several basketball games, girls district wrestling, and several speech meets. She said of the PANCO speech meet that the kids dressed well, spoke well, and were kind and respectful to all. “Our kids are pretty awesome,” she reported.
Technology Director Reimann was up next and laid out his plan for taking care of the technology needs of the school. He and Mr. Clear had worked on a USDA grant that could maybe get the school two mobile district learning carts. It would basically be a Zoom cart, and they were feeling pretty good about their chances of receiving the grant.
During Discussion Items, there was a lengthy discussion on water damage in Lister Sage. Water has been seeping down from cracks in the exterior into the boys locker room and has always been an issue. They are looking for a fix to the problem and not just a patch.
Clear said he’s over 95% sure that shot clocks will be required for Class C and D next year for high school basketball. The board discussed what that might look like as far as what sort of scoreboard would be needed and who would run the clocks. Several options are being checked into.
Negotiations between the board and teachers had gone well, according to David Russell. An agreement is being wrapped up with the teachers that includes a $350 increase to the base salary and an additional personal day each year.
Superintendent Clear brought up the fact that there isn’t a current policy for delinquent lunch accounts which was pointed out during a recent audit. He was asking for direction from the board as to what to do. There was a discussion about the way lunch bills are sent home and the lunch options for students who owe more than $20. No student is turned away, regardless. Clear mentioned that there have been times during the holidays when someone has brought in a check and asked the school to put it toward delinquent lunch bills. It’s rare to have a lunch bill go unpaid.
They wrapped up the evening by approving the purchase of a specialized piece of equipment, a Rifton Activity Chair, which costs a bit over $5,500, for the Hay Springs Special Education Department. The Board then went into executive session at 7:51 p.m.
The next regularly scheduled board meeting will be held on March 11 at 6:30 p.m.