Sumner Newscow report — The following is a synopsis of the Monday School Board meeting by Shelby Metcalf, Communications Director for Wellington USD 353.

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Discussion Items:

Washington Presentation
Washington Principal Ann Shinliver updated the BOE on all of the happenings at Washington Elementary. She said although difficulties persist, Washington students and staff workers on finding things to celebrate each day. She showed a video that highlighted students in the classroom celebrating accomplishments.

The video highlighted MTSS, STEAM, reading, project-based learning, Washington family game night kits and more. She thanked her teachers, staff, students and families for making Washington a great place to work and learn. She closed by mentioning Washington student’s MTSS testing results and reported that 96.8% of students showed improvement in reading and math.

Policy updates

The December 2020 policy updates have been released by KASB and reviewed by the policy committee. The updates were available for discussion/questions and possible approval. There was a brief discussion on where and how the policy updates were posted on the website. A motion was made and seconded to approve the policy updates as presented Motion passed 7-0.

ESSER Stimulus Grant

The district will be receiving a third round of Federal Stimulus money. The money can be used through 2023. Wellington Superintendent Adam Hatfield updated the board on early plans for its use. These plans could include summer and/or after school offerings for K-12 students to close any skill gaps lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and building improvements. The board will be updated as the planning process continues.

Food Service Waiver

Hatfield reported this school year is the final year of the district’s five-year contract with OPAA to provide food service for the district. Recently, districts were offered a COVID Waiver to extend food service contracts for an additional year. The Food Service Committee met and decided it is in the best interest of the district to extend our current contract a year. The board agreed with the committee’s recommendation.
A motion was made, seconded, and passed unanimously to accept the waiver and continue with OPPA for another year.

Chromebooks

The district’s annual order of Chromebooks was initially discussed. The district purchases replacement Chromebooks each year to recycle out the old models as part of the 1:1 initiative. The district is in the middle of the bidding process. The bids will be presented to the board for approval once the process is complete.

21-22 USD 353 Calendar

Mr. Hatfield informed the BOE that the USD 353 calendar committee has met and drafted the 21-22 calendar for discussion. The committee is still working on updates. The calendar will be presented to the board for approval once it is finalized.

Restructuring Discussion

Hatfield presented information that has been gathered over the last month with district staff and Site Councils regarding district class size numbers. This is an ongoing discussion regarding the structure of the district changing due to student population changes over many years.

Over the last month, principals met with their staff and site councils to discuss class size numbers. The discussions revolved around both what class sizes teachers felt were most successful along with building Site Council’s view on class size numbers. The BOE was informed of the outcomes and findings of these discussions.

The board requested that communication be released publicly with these outcomes before they take action. The district will release communication on this in the near future.

Action Items:

Financial Strategies

Dustin Avey from Piper-Sandler presented in both the November and January BOE meetings regarding financial services, and specifically about refinancing district bonds as a money-saving strategy for the district. A resolution was presented to the board to approve to begin work with Piper-Sandler on future financial strategies for the district and to allow them to begin the Bond Refinancing process.

A motion was made, seconded and passed unanimously for the resolution to work with Piper-Sandler and begin the bond refinancing process.

Motion passed 7-0

Facilities Plan

The board continued discussion on creating a district facilities plan. They have been presented with facility options from DCS Services and Energy Solutions Professionals over the last few months. The BOE discussed what each company offers and what best meets the district’s needs. DCS Services is a company that assesses facilities and helps make a prioritized list of projects, including cost, and a plan to complete these projects.

This could include improvements, repairs, and any new projects. They would also assist with the bidding process as well, once a project was approved to begin. ESP is a company that evaluates district facilities and assesses where energy-saving measures can be implemented in order to save money.

The majority ultimately decided DCS was the best fit but discussed the option of asking Energy Solutions Professionals to do an audit of WHS only to see if there could be some options for energy cost savings. Hatfield will research this and report back to the BOE.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the bid from DCS to start a facilities plan.

Motion passed 6-1.

Administrative Reports

Executive Session:

A motion was made and seconded to go into executive session to discuss non-elected personnel for 20 minutes. Motion passed 7-0.

Consent Agenda:

•Approve the Minutes of the Jan. 11th Meeting

•Approve Payroll and Bills Payroll: $ 1,082,749.37, Bills: $ 564,872.58 Transfers: At-Risk $200,000
Vocational-$50,000 PD- $50,000 Bilingual- $20,000

•Personnel

Approve New Hires
– Diamond Norwood- Para-Washington
– Chase Pfalzgraf-Para-Washington
– Jazmin Segovia- Para- WMS
– Kristina Williams- Para- Kennedy

Approve Resignations
-Kellie Cornwell- Kindergarten Teacher- Kennedy -Patti Zeka- At-Risk Aide- Washington

Approve Transfers
-Andrea Baker- Para- Kennedy to Eisenhower.

Approve Change of Status
-Patrick Mitchell- WHS custodian to maintenance.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the consent agenda as presented.  Motion passed 7-0

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Editor’s note — The complete agenda can be found at USD 353.com. A replay of the live stream of the meeting can be found on the USD 353 website. Please note that this is only a summary to provide a timely recap of each BOE meeting. Approved minutes posted by the Board Clerk can be found at USD353.com under the Board of Education tab.