Board Minutes—Regular Meeting 11/15/22

2022-2023
Regular Meeting

Official School Board Minutes

Regular Meeting of the School Board
November 15, 2022

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Independent School District 270 was conducted in-person and streamed virtually, on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.

School Board members present: Treasurer Steve Adams, Vice Chair Shannon Andreson, Director Rachel Hartland, Director Tanya Khan, Director Jason Ross, Clerk Katie Pederson and Chair Jennifer Westmoreland. School Board members absent: None.

Student Board reps present: Isabella McCoy (12), Elif Ozturk (11) and Samia Osman (10).

Staff members present: Superintendent Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed. Staff members absent: None.

Open Agenda — Public Comments on Agenda Items

Community member Ellie Kretz, addressed the board.

Reports

Scholar Board Report

McCoy, Ozturk and Osman provided details on recent events at Hopkins High School.

Superintendent Report

Mhiripiri-Reed highlighted events in the district that occurred since the last meeting.

Approval of Agenda

Pederson moved; Adams seconded; to approve the agenda as presented. Carried.

Consent Calendar

Adams moved; Pederson seconded; to approve the Consent Calendar as presented: A) Approval of Minutes — Regular Meeting Conducted on October 25, 2022; B) Human Resources — Personnel Updates; C) Policies in Second Read; D) Contract Renewal: Superintendent Contract, 2023-2025; E) Out of State Travel — Boy’s Hockey; F) MSHSL Resolution; G) Levy Certification Update.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Adams highlighted expenses of interest. Adams moved; Pederson seconded; to approve financial disbursements in the amount of $2,338,259.32 for the period of October 19, through November 8, 2022. Carried.

Learning & Achievement Update

Guided by Director of Innovation, Design and Learning, Ann Ertl; Assistant Director Allegra Smisek, Dr. Abby Holm and Sarah Sirna provided the board with insight into various assessment and enrichment programs that the district implements to measure scholar success.

Highlights include Hopkins scholars consistently placing in the 90th percentile within our panorama profile. Hopkins uses this data to personalize learning. Board members went on to discuss these metrics in comparison to standardized testing.

Policy Discussion

At the regular meeting held on October 25th, 2022, board members moved to table this discussion and present it again at the November 15th regular meeting.

Board members discussed the policy noting the absence of a plan in the case of prolonged board member absence.

Andreson moved; Adams seconded; that the policy and monitoring committee implement revisions to policy 209. Further, the policy will be presented and discussed in the next scheduled workshop. Carried.

Policies in First Read

Policy 418: Drug-Free Schools And Workplace
Policy 421: Gifts To Employees
Policy 452: Elementary Teachers Preparation

Lightfoot and Andreson reviewed the policies with the board noting minor changes for policies 418 and 421. Policy 452 will be eliminated from Hopkins’ policy library as the language resides in employee contracts.

Andreson moved; and Adams seconded; that the Board approves Policies [418, 421, 425] in First Read; further, the Board directs the Administration to prepare the policies (with suggested revisions) for approval in Second Reading at the next meeting as part of Consent. Carried.

Approval of 2022-23 Calendar

Assistant Superintendent Lightfoot noted that the previous drafts were discussed at the October 25th workshop. Minor revisions were made to the drafts to reflect the Board conversation and identification of draft errors to correct. He went on to clarify differences between the two options for the board.

Adam’s moved; Khan seconded; to approve calendar recommendation #1 for the 2023-24 school year. Carried.

Bond Sale Resolution and Levy Update

At the workshop held at 5:30 p.m. Director Chapinduka provided an update to the board on the tax levy in addition presenting a bond sale resolution. This resolution states the intention of the School Board to issue General Obligation Facilities Maintenance, Series 2022a, in the approximate principal amount of $10,985,000. This a continuation from the resolution presented and approved by the board on the September 20, 2022 regular meeting.

Adams moved; Ross seconded; that the Board approves the above Bond Sale resolution. Those voting in favor thereof: Director Hartland, Director Adams, Director Westmoreland, Director Andreson, Director Khan, Director Ross and Director Pederson.