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The Board of Trustees of Circle Elementary and High School District No. One, McCone County, Montana, met in regular session on January 8, 2024 at 6:00pm in the high school library.

Trustees present: Doug Shennum, Cary Phillips, Sara Moline, Krista Beery, Emily Guldborg, Charity Jensen. Also in attendance were Clerk RaChelle Kirkegard, Superintendent Tara Hubing, Principal Mauri Elness, Lindsey Williams, Bryce Hove, Roger Schara, Megan Knuth, and Kelsy Hale.

Chairman Phillips opened the meeting with the pledge of allegiance.

There was no public comment on non-agenda items.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Moved by Beery, seconded by Guldborg to approve the minutes of the December 11, 2023 regular board meeting as presented. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

CONSENT AGENDA

Moved by Shennum, seconded by Beery to approve the consent agenda items of November 30 cash, revenue, and expenditure balances, December claims, November 30 Elementary and High School activity accounts, payment of ASP salaries/benefits using ESSER III funds, payment of Title 1 salaries/benefits using Title 1 grant money, and an invoice to Interstate Engineering for the services of surveying the county land for the football field and preliminary fees for the bus approach/sidewalk project. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

AD REPORT

Williams gave her AD report. Boys and girls jamboree basketball started right after Christmas break. There are 15 girls and 12 boys out. The annual meeting for MHSA will be in Bozeman on January 14 and 15 where it is planned to discuss the basketball/track reclassification, the all-class state volleyball site, the new requirement for each school to have an Emergency Action Plan, and an update on the decisions regarding the order of games, meets, etc. The new high school wrestling singlets were shown. High school football and boys basketball are next on the list for new uniforms for the 2024-25 school year. Post season events for speech and drama, wrestling, and basketball are coming up within the next few weeks.

PRINCIPAL REPORT

Elness gave her principal report. Tenure teacher observations will take place during the next month. The benchmark testing window is open from January 8th-19th. Grades K-12 will all be completing a variety of tests. The PIR day in January was a record keeping day and staff completed the bloodborne pathogens training that is required by our insurance. She will be attending the Montana Principals Conference in Butte January 21-23. The discipline log was reported.

SUPERINTENDENT REPORT

Hubing gave her superintendent report. A copy of the signed contract with Interstate Engineering was presented. This contract will be just for the design of the bus approach/sidewalk project. The contract with Interstate Engineering will stop after proposals are turned in. The district would then have to enter into another contract with Interstate Engineering for the next phase of the project, depending on how involved we would like them to be at that stage. Jordan with IE had some questions on the design and Tara was able to answer those questions. He sent 3 options for the sidewalk part of the project. Option 1 shows an alternative sidewalk that goes as far as the Bo-Peep parking lot. Option 2 has the same alternative sidewalk as shown in Option 1, except in Option 2 the sidewalk extends into the playground area. Option 3 has no alternative sidewalk. Option 3 is the choice with the possibility of option 2 if it's within budget. Jordan will include option 2 in the design and have it listed as an alternative. School Safety, Security, and Innovations Symposium; Strategies for Effective Parent, Family, and Community Engagement; and Cyber Security Awareness are just a few of the trainings she has attended recently. Mary James has been working with high school students in redesigning how the books are displayed in the high school library.

CONSIDERATION OF SAFE TURN TO SCHOOLS AND CONTINUITY OF SERVICES PLAN

No comments

POLICIES-2ND READINGS

Policy 1240-Duties of Individual Trustees-updated to clarify the legal requirement for trustee visits to schools and cross reference with Policy 1520. Discussion was held on the board scheduling dates for a scheduled visit to the school. Moved by Guldborg, seconded by Moline to adopt the 2nd reading of Policy 1240. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

Policy 3310P2-Academic Honesty and Responsible Use of Resources-this procedure was developed to assist districts in managing student technology, including AI, in a responsible and academically relevant manner. Moved by Moline, seconded by Guldborg to adopt the 2nd reading of Policy 3310P2. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

Policy 5231-Personnel Records-updated to require staff to maintain an accurate and up to date mailing address with the school district. Moved by Guldborg, seconded by Calderon to adopt the 2nd reading of Policy 5231. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

POLICIES-PREVIOUSLY TABLED

Policy 1420-Board Meeting Procedure-updated to reflect the changes in the law from HB890. The policy now outlines the process for Class 1 and 2 districts to complete and maintain recordings of school board meetings as will be required starting July 1, 2024. Discussion was held on what equipment will be needed to start recording the meetings. Tara recommended keeping this policy tabled since it doesn't go into effect until July 1, 2024. No action taken. Policy remains tabled.

Policy 1520-Board Staff Communications-updated to clarify the options staff have to raise concerns in the district, communicate with trustees, and establish a method for collaborative trustee visits to schools. Moved by Moline, seconded by Guldborg to approve the 1st reading of Policy 1520. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

Policy 2320-Field Trips and Excursions-updated to reflect the changes in law from HB676 and SB518. The policy now cross references Policy 8132 to detail how parents consent to school trips. Moved by Guldborg, seconded by Moline to approve Policy 2320. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

Policy 3141-Non-Resident Enrollment-replaced in its entirety to reflect the changes in the law from HB203. The previous policy shall not be retained. The new policy details the process for nonresident students to enroll in a district when required by law and when extenuating circumstances do not exist. The policy now outlines how districts may establish application deadlines, priority processes, and standards for capacity as permitted by law. Tara recommended keeping this policy tabled until the ISAP was complete. No action taken. Policy remains tabled.

Policy 3305-Seclusion and Restraint-updated to reflect the changes in the law from HB676 and SB518. The policy now includes methods for parental consent to health intervention or screening. Moved by Beery, seconded by Moline to approve Policy 3305. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

Policy 3431-Emergency Treatment-updated to reflect the changes in the law from HB676 and SB518 through authorization to act in an emergency situation consistent with Policies 3305 and 3310P. Moved by Shennum, seconded by Calderon to approve Policy 3431. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

Policy 8132-Activity Trips-updated to reflect the changes in the law from HB676 and SB518. The policy now outlines how parents will provide the opportunity to consent to trips and rooming assignments and details the process for districts to use activity specific transportation methods and lodging. Discussion was held on removing the optional wording in lines 42-43 and replacing lines 7-11 under “Room Assignments” to read as: Students will never share a room or sleeping quarters with an individual of the opposite biological sex on a school sponsored trip. Never will an adult or employee of the district share a room with a student unless it is with their own child. No action taken. Policy remains tabled.

BUS APPROACH-RFQ

Jordan with Interstate Engineering had previously stated he could draft the RFQ and RFP documents for the bus approach/sidewalk project. A motion was made at the December regular board meeting to use Interstate Engineering for both documents. Tara and Jordan spoke in more detail about both documents and Jordan felt comfortable with the RFP but he suggested using MTSBA for the RFQ document. Moved by Shennum, seconded by Beery to use both Interstate Engineering and MTSBA to draft the documents referenced above.

EMERGENCY HANDBOOK

Tara attended a training on a standard response protocol through the “I Love You Guys Foundation”. The instructor guide and posters to be given out to the staff and parents were presented to the board. She feels the standard language will be beneficial to everyone. She recommended approving the Circle Emergency Handbook as presented with the addition of the “I Love You Guys” Foundation materials in it. Moved by Shennum, seconded by Beery to approve the Circle Emergency Handbook as presented with the addition of the standard response protocol through the “I Love You Guys” Foundation. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

POST EMPLOYMENT TRANSITION SERVICES CONTRACT

A contract between the District and the Montana Department of Health and Human Services (MTDHHS) was presented for pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities. The funds received can be used for job exploration counseling, work-based learning experiences, counseling on opportunities for enrollment in comprehensive transition or post-secondary education, workplace readiness training, and instruction in self advocacy. Moved by Shennum, seconded by Moline to enter into a contract with the MTDHHS for pre-employment transition services as presented. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

SUPERINTENDENT EVALUATION TOOL

Moved by Beery, seconded by Guldborg to approve appendix 5 example 4 of the Montana Educator Performance Appraisal System as the superintendent evaluation tool. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

CLERK EVALUATION TOOL

Moved by Guldborg, seconded by Calderon to approve the clerk evaluation tool as presented. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

K12 MONTANA DOOR INTERCOM SYSTEM

Currently the door intercom system devices to buzz into a building are located in the district office and both secretaries' offices. When any of those staff members are away from their desk it makes it difficult for individuals to be buzzed into a building. Tara spoke with Jeff Patterson with K12-Montana about an intercom system that will work with our existing door system. It will be on an iPad, which will allow staff to take the iPad with them and open a door wherever they are in the building, thus eliminating the requirement for the doors to be opened only from the desk stations. The company that installed the current door system returned Tara's call but they did not think they would be able to provide an option as up to date as K12-Montana. Two quotes from K12-Montana were presented, one for the Redwater and Bo-Peep and the other for the High School. Moved by Phillips, seconded by Beery to approve the quotes from K12 Montana as presented for the door intercom systems in the Bo-Peep, Redwater, and High School. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

None

The next Integrated Strategic Planning meetings are scheduled for February 5, 2024 at 5:15pm and February 12, 2024 at 5:15 pm in the high school library.

Moved by Shennum, seconded by Moline to schedule the superintendent and clerk evaluations on January 16, 2024 in the high school library beginning at 5:15pm. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

Moved by Beery, seconded by Guldborg to schedule the next regular board meeting for Monday, February 12, 2024 at 6:00pm in the high school library. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.

Moved by Beery, seconded by Phillips to adjourn the meeting at 7:46pm. Motion carried unanimously by the combined board.