MINUTES BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORT APRIL 11, 2022
The regular meeting of the Board of Education was held on April 11th. This meeting was advertised in the April 6th edition of the Battle Creek Enterprise. President Jeremy Pochop called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. Members present were Brent Bode, Tammy Bierman, Sean Lindgren, and Paul Kuchar. Toby Thompson came late. Also, present were Superintendent Jake Luhr and Principals Jeff Heimes, Curtis Childers and Jay Spearman of Piper/Sandler, and 17 visitors. The open meeting law poster was discussed and posted and will be followed at every Board meeting. To start the Board meeting, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Paul Kuchar made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, which included the April general fund bills that totaled $87,217.46. Brent Bode seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with five ayes.
President Jeremy Pochop asked the visitors if any of them wanted to speak to the Board about any of the agenda items, and if they did, they had 3 minutes to speak on that item. 3 visitors made comments regarding the bus barn. 1 visitor made comments regarding National FCCLA.
Mr. Luhr presented to the Board an email from Dean Carroll of First Student in which he inquired about the board’s position on selling district land for a bus barn, a proposal to increase bus drivers pay, and a proposal to extend the district’s current contract beyond the year 2024. The board took no action on any of these items.
Mr. Luhr presented to the Board a two-day schedule for the April 13th & 14th meetings with the architects.
Mr. Luhr advised the Board that he and Mr. Heimes had visited two ag facilities on Friday. One was at Wisner and the other one was at Cross County. Both facilities gave Mr. Heimes and Mr. Luhr good insight into what the district’s future Ag/FFA facilities could look like.
Jay Spearman of Piper/Sandler presented to the Board a packet with preliminary numbers of the issuing the Bonds for the purpose of financing the costs of the construction project. After going over the preliminary numbers, Mr. Spearman presented and read the Resolution to authorize the issue of our Series 2022 voted general obligation bonds. Sean Lindgren made a motion to approve the Resolution as read by Jay Spearman for the issue of our Series 2022 general obligation bonds. Tammy Bierman seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Toby Thompson made a motion to approve the payment to Madison County Clerk in the amount of $5,288.64 for the Special Bond election. Paul Kuchar seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Mr. Luhr presented to the Board the Option Enrollment Policy 5006 Resolution and Appendix 1 for the 2022-23 school year along with the preliminary enrollment figures for the 2022-23 school year. Brent Bode made a motion to approve the Option Enrollment Policy 5006 Resolution and Appendix 1 for the 2022-23 school year. Sean Lindgren seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Toby Thompson made a motion to approve the teacher resignation of Teresa Christensen, social studies teacher, at the end of the 2021-22 school year with appreciation for her 28 years of service to Battle Creek Public Schools and our students. Paul Kuchar seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Paul Kuchar made a motion to approve the teacher resignation of Blake Mooney, 4th grade teacher, effective at the end of the 2021-22 school year. Toby Thompson seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Brent Bode made a motion to approve the new teacher contract of Junior Aguilar, science teacher for the 2022-23 school year. Paul Kuchar seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Tammy Bierman made a motion to approve the new teacher contract of Brianna O’Brien, Family & Consumer Science teacher for the 2022-23 school year. Sean Lindgren seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Toby Thompson made a motion to approve the new teacher contract of Jamie Frisch, 4th grade teacher for the 2022-23 school year. Tammy Bierman seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Mr. Luhr presented to the Board a breakdown of the estimated costs associated with the 6 students who qualified for National FCCLA Competition in San Diego, California this summer. Discussion was held regarding the expenses that were paid by the district and the competitors’ costs for previous national qualifiers. Brent Bode made a motion that the district would pay 60% of the expenses, and the competitors/organization would pay 40% of their expenses. Tammy Bierman seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Sean Lindgren made a motion to approve the option enrollment request of Hunter Lowry, kindergartner, for the 2022-23 school year. This request was based on available room in the class at this time. Brent Bode seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Sean Lindgren made a motion to approve the option enrollment request of Connor Heiderman, 9th grader, for the 2022-23 school year. This request was based on available room in the class at this time. Paul Kuchar seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Paul Kuchar made a motion to deny the option enrollment request of Trent Scheer, 9th grader, for the 2022-23 school year. This request was denied based on Board Policy 5006 Appendix 1. Toby Thompson seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Brent Bode made a motion to approve the option enrollment request of Maverick Burns, 9th grader, for the 2022-23 school year. Sean Lindgren seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with five ayes. Toby Thompson abstained.
Toby Thompson made a motion to approve the option enrollment request of Jaidyn Smutny, 9th grader, for the 2022-23 school year. Paul Kuchar seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Tammy Bierman made a motion to approve the option enrollment request of Colten Melcher, 9th grader, for the 2022-23 school year. Toby Thompson seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Brent Bode made a motion to approve the option enrollment request of Zaiac Johnson, 9th grader, for the 2022-23 school year. Paul Kuchar seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with six ayes.
Comments were heard from the Board, Principals, and Superintendent. Sean Lindgren left early.
Toby Thompson made a motion to go into executive session at 7:04 P.M. to discuss classified wages for the 2022-23 school year. Brent Bode seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with five ayes.
Toby Thompson made a motion to come out of executive session at 7:34 P.M. Paul Kuchar seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with five ayes.
The board took no action on the classified wages for the 2022-23 school year. The 2022-23 classified wages will be further discussed at the May board meeting.
With no further business, Board President Jeremy Pochop adjourned the meeting at 7:35 P.M.
Submitted by,
Jake Luhr, Secretary Board of Education