The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
West Central CUSD #235 Board of Education met July 15th and the following items took place.
The aboard approved:
The board approved bids for the dairy and bakery products. The bakery vendor for FY10 will be Interstate Brands and the diary vendor will be Anderson/Erickson Dairy.
Both vendors are the current providers.
The board approved a request by District Instrumental instructor Dan Potts for an out-of-state field trip to Gatlinburg, TN on May 6-9, 2010.
The board reviewed the bids that were received for the installation of heaters at the Early Childhood Center. Following a review of those bids, the board approved the low bid of $28,771 from JP Benbow Plumbing and Heating of Galesburg, IL. Work will start on the installation of those heaters as soon as possible.
The board approved a quote in the amount of $4,266 from Arnold's Refrigeration for the installation of a ceiling heater in the hallway that runs adjacent to the main entrance to the WCHS gym.
The board discussed a proposed contract regarding athletic trainer services that had been presented to them last month by Superintendent Grimm on behalf of Great River Medical Center. As a result of the discussion at last month's board meeting, the board asked Supt. Grimm to seek clarification on a couple of issues. Supt. Grimm reported that the contract being presented was the best agreement that could be reached after a series of discussions between the two parties. Following a brief discussion, the board approved the contract as presented. It should be noted that the services of the athletic trainer will be provided by GRMC at no cost to the district.
The board heard a review of the three quotes that were received from vendors to conduct the district's student drug testing program for those students who wish to participate in extracurricular activities. Following a review of those quotes, the board approved a proposal from Eagle View Community Health System to conduct the random student drug testing program.
The board briefly reviewed the minutes from the board sub-committee on athletics and extra-curricular meeting that took place on Thursday, June 25, 2009. The board directed Supt. Grimm to have the board's Extracurricular Participation Statement for further discussion on the August board meeting agenda.
Superintendent Grimm reviewed with the board an un-audited summary of the FY09 ending fund balances. That summary indicated that the district ended the fiscal year with positive balances in all funds and that the total surplus across all funds increased from those ending fund balances on June 30, 2008.
Superintendent Grimm provided the board with an update on the summer work that is underway in each of the district's facilities.
Generally, Supt. Grimm informed the board that work was on-track to be completed prior to the start of school. Supt. Grimm also informed the board that the anticipated arrival date of the replacement unit ventilators for those units which were damaged in December due to the ice storm is the last week of August and installation should begin sometime after that. It was pointed out that the installation will now be done during non-school hours.
The board was provided an overview of the 2009 -2010 opening of school in terms of the activities that are being planned the weeks of August 10th and August 17th. The board also indicated that they would be sponsoring a luncheon for all district staff on August 17, 2009.
Superintendent Grimm discussed with the board the FY10 State's Budget and the implication of that budget on the early childhood program and the reading improvement block grant that are operated by the district. After an overview of the status of the State's budget and the potential implication in terms of staffing and programs themselves, the board approved the Superintendent's request to continue to provide the programs in a manner close to what it is now, even if that means using district funds to pay for the programs.
The board did indicate that it was their desire to see all activities of the program scrutinized carefully and those non-essential elements of the program should be either reduced or eliminated if possible.
Supt. Grimm presented the board with a listing of all district vehicles and various types of equipment that is used to maintain the district's building and grounds. It was pointed out that our fleet of vehicles is extremely aged with quite a few miles on them as is some of the equipment used to maintain the grounds.
Supt. Grimm asked for and received permission to convene a meeting of the board's transportation sub-committee to review the list with transportation director Rick Olson and to bring back a recommendation in August either for a multi-year plan to begin to replace this equipment or recommendation for FY10 to begin replacing some of this equipment.
Supt. Grimm discussed with the board the possibility of purchasing the Skyward Food Service module to be added to our Skyward software system. Several benefits of this program were identified with the main benefit being that parents would have immediate real-time access to their students' lunch account and the various information items that would be contained in those reports.
Following a brief discussion, the board gave permission to pursue purchasing this software module and getting it ready for implementation prior to the start of the 2009-2010 school year.
Under future agenda items, it was noted that the board's participation statement is to be included in the August board meeting agenda as is the formal purchase of the Skyward Food Service program.
The board entered closed session to discuss matters pertaining to personnel at approximately 8:30 p.m. The board exited closed session at 10:10 p.m.
Upon exiting closed session the following action took place:
The board was reminded that their next meeting is Wednesday, August 19, 2009. It was pointed out that this meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and be held in the elementary cafeteria.
There being no other business to come before the board, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:10 p.m.