MINUTES BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORT MAY 9, 2022
The regular meeting of the Board of Education was held on May 9th. This meeting was advertised in the May 4th 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 Toby Thompson. Paul Kuchar was absent. Also, present were Superintendent Jake Luhr and Principals Jeff Heimes and Curtis Childers, and two visitors. The new 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.
Toby Thompson made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, which included the May general fund bills that totaled $63,139.15. Brent Bode seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with five ayes.
Mr. Luhr asked the Board if they had any interest in selling any school property. After some discussion, the Board decided that they were not interested in selling any school property at this time.
Mr. Luhr presented to the Board a tentative architecture and construction timeline. The timeline is aggressive, but the goal is for the construction to be completed by the fall of 2023.
Mr. Luhr presented to the Board a payroll schedule for extra duty pay that will be part of the negotiations process during the 2022-23 school year. More discussion at a later Board meeting.
Mr. Luhr presented to the Board this year’s annual Rule 10 Safety Review. The report had some minor safety concerns with some recommendations, but overall, it was a very positive review.
Mr. Luhr discussed with the Board that he had been checking with area schools on substitute teacher pay for the 2022-23 school year. After discussion, Brent Bode made a motion to increase substitute teacher pay from $120.00 to $130.00 for the 2022-23 school year. Toby Thompson seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with five ayes.
Tammy Bierman made a motion to approve the new teacher contract of Jeremy Weidner, social studies teacher, for the 2022-23 school year. Sean Lindgren seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with five ayes.
Sean Lindgren made a motion to deny the option enrollment request of Barrett Roberts, 5th grader, for the 2022-23 school year. This request was denied based on Board Policy 5006 Appendix 1. Brent Bode seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with five ayes.
Toby Thompson made a motion to deny the option enrollment request of Gunar Roberts, 7th grader, for the 2022-23 school year. This request was denied based on Board Policy 5006 Appendix 1. Sean Lindgren seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with five ayes.
Sean Lindgren made a statement that he has accepted a new position and is no longer employed by Hausmann Construction, thus there would no longer be a conflict of interest regarding his involvement with future board actions pertaining to upcoming construction.
Comments were heard from the Board, Principals, and Superintendent.
Toby Thompson made a motion to go into executive session at 6:35 P.M. to discuss classified wages for the 2022-23 school year. Sean Lindgren seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with five ayes.
Brent Bode made a motion to come out of executive session at 7:20 P.M. Tammy Bierman seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motion carried with five ayes.
Brent Bode made a motion to approve the classified wage scale for the 2022-23 school year, which includes base hourly wages for classified positions along with experience and degree multipliers to set individual hourly wages for classified employees. Sean Lindgren seconded the motion. On roll call vote, the motions carried with 4 ayes. Toby Thompson abstained.
With no further business, Board President Jeremy Pochop adjourned the meeting at 7:24 P.M.
Submitted by,
Jake Luhr, Secretary Board of Education