The Mineral Point School Board held its regular monthly meeting Monday, which also served as its annual organizational meeting.
The Board unanimously elected the following officers for 2020-21: Nate Chambers, President; Aaron Dunn, Vice President; Everett Lindsey, Clerk; and Larry Steffes, Treasurer.
Angela Schubert, District Administrative Assistant, was again named the Board Secretary.
The Board unanimously agreed to keep the regular monthly meeting time as 6:30 pm on the second Monday of the month.
The Board unanimously agreed to keep their salaries at $600 annually per member.
The Board established the following committee Chairs and Vice Chairs.
— Operations: Nate Chambers, Chair and Gary Sullivan, Vice Chair
— Personnel: Gary Sullivan, Chair and Joni Heisner, Vice Chair
— Policy: Everett Lindsey, Chair and Aaron Dunn, Vice Chair
— Finance: Andy Busch, Chair and Larry Steffes, Vice Chair
The Board’s committee structure is such that any member is welcome to attend any committee meeting.
The Board again named Chambers as CESA 3 Delegate and Dunn as WASB Delegate.
(Go to the three minute, 45 second mark of the video)
Video link: https://youtu.be/qCGYPLpsGHs
Other Business:
— Superintendent Mitch Wainwright presented an updated look at the preliminary 2020-21 budget. As of Monday night, he stated the district is looking at a $10,000 surplus for next year, but the district is still looking at cutting some budget items. This is because, as Wainwright stated, there could be cuts coming to state aid due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His goal is to get the preliminary budget to a $30,000 to $50,000 surplus so the district would be able to sustain a reduction in state aid, if one occurs. (Go to the 30 minute, 15 second mark)
— An update was given on the elementary renovation project which is underway as the contractor is on site. There had been a wait for some subcontractors and there still are, and might be, some disruptions to the supply chain due to the pandemic. The power at the elementary will be off for two to four weeks beginning Thursday, May 14. Updates will continue to be posted to https://mineralpointschools.org/elementary-renovation/ (Go to the 48 minute, 30 second mark)
— The Board unanimously approved the hiring of the following teachers: Chelsea Allendorf (5th Grade), Kari Kabat (Middle School Math), Dalton Miles (Middle/High School English), and Jessica Soots (1st Grade). (Go to the two hour, 29 minute mark)
— School Administrators provided an update on virtual learning, sharing what has been going well, along with some challenges students and staff are facing. The district again thanks families for completing the virtual learning survey. (Go to the one hour, 12 minute mark)
— The Board approved the CESA 3 contract for 2020-21 by a 6-1 vote with Lindsey voting no. (Go to the one hour, 36 minute, 15 second mark)
— Unanimously approved the annual Speech & Language Pathologist shared services agreement with Iowa-Grant. (Go to the one hour, 42 minute, 30 second mark)
— Unanimously approved the annual SWEEP contracts that involve a shared system between schools for large equipment purchases. (Go to the one hour, 46 minute, 30 second mark)
— Unanimously approved the sports trainer contract with Southwest Health. (Go to the one hour, 50 minute, 15 second mark)
— Unanimously approved the annual Renaissance Learning contract. This is a product that provides educational analytics about student learning so staff can help students achieve at higher levels. (Go to the one hour, 55 minute mark)
— The Board discussed a request from transportation company First Student to pay 50% to 80% of the regular home to school bus route cost during the spring school closure. Superintendent Wainwright stated the district might be eligible to receive some federal CARES money that can be used for COVID-19 expenses, including keeping contracted service providers whole. The Board tabled the decision until the June meeting when it hopes to know more about the possible federal money. (Go to the two hour, three minute mark)
— The Board unanimously approved the credit card statement and bills payable. (Go to the two hour, 26 minute, 30 second mark)
— The next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Monday, June 8 at 6:30 pm.