Board Chair Karen Allen called the meeting to order at 6:32pm.

Students from Johnson Elementary gave a presentation on the Hour of Code and Coding Club after school programs. As part of their presentation, students worked one-on-one with Board members guiding them through a coding program.

Students presenting were:
Charlie Alerding
Martha Kelly Bone
William Brewer
Violet Hisey
Elliot Martin
Oliver Martin

The Board thanked the students for their presentation and gave each a "Rich in Tradition" t-shirt.

Gene Kirchner recognized and thanked Board members for their service to our district.

FTEA co-presidents Dawn Hils and Judy Manning thanked Board members for their service and presented each with a gift from the FTEA.

Order #1581 - Motion Passed:  Appointment of Karen Allen as Chairperson, Jeff Beach as Vice Chairperson, Gene Kirchner as Secretary and Andrew Remlinger as Treasurer passed with a motion by Mrs. Lisa Duckworth and a second by Mr. Bradley Fennell.

Order #1582 - Motion Passed:  Approval to hold the regular monthly Board meetings for 2016 at 6:30pm on the second Monday of each month, with the exception of April which will be held on the third Monday, passed with a motion by Mr. Jeff Beach and a second by Mrs. Karen Allen.

Order #1583 - Motion Passed:  Approval to donate stipends for regular monthly meetings to be divided between two scholarship funds, one for students and another for the Gail Federle Memorial Teacher Scholarship for teachers passed with a motion by Mr. Bradley Fennell and a second by Mrs. Lisa Duckworth.

• Board Committees 2016

Order #1584 - Motion Passed:  Approval of the 2016 committee list passed with a motion by Mr. Jeff Beach and a second by Mrs. Karen Allen.

Jerry Wissman gave the Board an update on the current status of the project, noting that this remains an open project until the final work can be completed in the spring.

Jerry Wissman gave the Board an update on the current status of the project.

• Change Proposal 38 - HHS Phase 4 Gym

Order #1585 - Motion Passed:  Approval of Change Proposal #38 in the amount of $383,845.00 for Phase 4: Gymnasium of the Highlands High School renovation project passed with a motion by Mr. Jeff Beach and a second by Mrs. Lisa Duckworth.

• Change Order 5 - HHS Phase 4 Gym

Order #1586 - Motion Passed:  Approval of Change Order #5 in the amount of $404,327.00 for Phase 4:Gymnasium of the Highlands High School renovation project passed with a motion by Mr. Bradley Fennell and a second by Mrs. Karen Allen.

• Revised BG-1 - HHS Phase 4Gym

Order #1587 - Motion Passed:  Approval of the Revised BG-1 in the amount of $5,772,341.00 for Phase 4:Gymnasium of the Highlands High School renovation project passed with a motion by Mrs. Lisa Duckworth and a second by Mr. Jeff Beach.

• Century Pay App 11 - HHS Phase 4 Gym

Order #1588 - Motion Passed:  Approval of Pay Application #11 in the amount of $255,552.60 to Century Construction for Phase 4:Gymnasium of the Highlands High School Renovation project passed with a motion by Mr. Bradley Fennell and a second by Mrs. Karen Allen.

Jerry Wissman gave the Board an update on the current status of the project.

• Morel Pay App 2 - MES

Order #1589 - Motion Passed:  Approval of Pay Application #2 in the amount of $495,252.00 to Morel Construction for the Moyer Elementary Renovation project passed with a motion by Mr. Jeff Beach and a second by Mrs. Karen Allen.

Order #1590 - Motion Passed:  Authorization for the Superintendent to approve change orders in an amount up to $20,000 for any district construction project passed with a motion by Mr. Bradley Fennell and a second by Mr. John Weyer.

Order #1591 - Motion Passed:  Approval of the law firm of O'Hara, Ruberg, Taylor, Sloan and Sergent to provide legal counsel passed with a motion by Mr. Jeff Beach and a second by Mrs. Lisa Duckworth.

• 2016-17 Budget Comparison -- Draft
• 2016-17 Budget DRAFT

Order #1592 - Motion Passed:  Approval of the Draft Working Budget for the 2016-17 School Year passed with a motion by Mr. Bradley Fennell and a second by Mr. Jeff Beach.

Gene Kirchner reviewed the 2016-17 draft budget with the Board comparing it to the current year budget and discussing potential budget priorities.

• Policy 09.423 - Use of Alcohol Drugs and Other Prohibited Substances
• Policy 09.434 - Suspension

Order #1593 - Motion Passed:  Adoption of Policy 09.423 - Use of Alcohol, Drugs and Other Prohibited Substances and Policy 09.434 - Suspension as presented for a 2nd Reading passed with a motion by Mrs. Lisa Duckworth and a second by Mr. Jeff Beach.

Tuition rates must be approved annually. Administration is recommending an increase of $300 to All Day Kindergarten to align with other tuition rates for the 2016-17 year.

A positive benefit of accepting tuition students is the additional revenue. Since each request is reviewed on an individual basis, a student is not accepted if additional staff is required. Parent requests for a particular school are not honored unless the child has an older sibling in the school.  In that case, an effort is made to place the children in the same school if numbers allow. All applicants are considered under our enrollment policy.  We take into consideration academic, behavior and attendance records, but we cannot discriminate based on gender, race, disability, ethnic background, etc.  

CHILDREN OF EMPLOYEES
In previous years the rate for children of employees has been one half of the tuition amount.  It is recommended that you continue this practice for full-time certified and classified employees.

PRESCHOOL TUITION
The preschool program accepts a limited number of children who do not qualify for free lunch or have an identified disability. These children serve as peer models for the children with disabilities. It is recommended that you continue this practice and charge a monthly tuition of $230.

ALL DAY KINDERGARTEN
It is recommended the elementary schools continue to offer an optional all day program for kindergarten students with parents paying tuition for ½ of the day. Since the program is optional, it is recommended that no discounts be offered. A deposit of $150 is required to be considered for this program.

REQUESTED MOTION: Continue accepting tuition students.  Approve the following tuition rates for the 2016-17 school year:

 ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES

1. A non-refundable fee of $50 must be submitted with all tuition applications. Any new tuition student participating in athletics or a school sponsored extracurricular activity must pay a $250 non-refundable deposit before attending the first practice/event. All fees will be applied to tuition if the student actually attends a FTIS school.
2. Parents who have a history of three late payments will be required to pay tuition in full prior to the beginning of the school year. A general letter notifying all tuition parents of this change will be sent in mid-February to give them time to save money for an August payment.

Order #1594 - Motion Passed:  Approval to continue accepting tuition students and to approve the tuition rates for the 2016-17 school year for Half-day Kindergarten at $1200 with ADA contract and $2450 with no ADA contract; All-Day Kindergarten at $3900 with ADA contract and $5150 with no ADA contract; All-Day Kindergarten for residents at $2700; Grades 1-12 at $2400 with ADA contract and $4900 with no ADA contract; an additional tuition charge for Preschool of $230 per month, to require a non-refundable application fee of $50 and continue the procedure to require a $250 non-refundable deposit for new tuition students to begin participation in athletics/extracurricular activities (All fees will be applied to tuition if the student attends a FTIS school) passed with a motion by Mr. Bradley Fennell and a second by Mr. Jeff Beach.

The attached 2016-17 calendar was developed based on results of recent surveys that were available for faculty, staff, parents, students and community members.

The recommended beginning and ending times for the school day are as follows:

The day at each school includes six hours and ten minutes of instruction and 30 minutes. The instructional day for kindergarten at all three elementary schools will be from 8:15 a.m. to 11:20 p.m. for the morning session and 11:55 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for the afternoon session. The high school will have 2 shortened days during the exam schedule for a total of no more than 2 hours each day.

The calendar includes 6 shortened days when classes will begin one hour later than the typical schedule. The time will be used for Professional Development and will allow teachers time to collaborate on common issues, including curriculum and assessment across grade level and to address school-wide issues. The elementary schools will have classified staff available to work with students whose parents need to keep them on a regular schedule.

Our total instructional time exceeds the state minimum requirement of 1062 instructional hours. The number of hours above the state minimum is at least 25 hours at all schools. The extra time for kindergarten is approximately 10 hours.  Although the state no longer allows districts to bank time for early dismissals and school closures, the time does allow the district flexibility in case delays are needed. All late arrival days will be on a Wednesday and there will be three per semester.  The proposed dates are: September 14, October 19, November 16, January 25, February 22 and March 22.       

Please approve the preschool calendar to consist of a 3 hour day, 4 days per week. The recommended instructional day for preschool is Monday through Thursday from 8:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. for the morning session and 12 noon to 3:00 p.m. for the afternoon session. It is recommended that the preschool begin on August 30, 2016, and end on May 11, 2017, to allow time for required screenings, testing and parent meetings. 

Please approve a 2016-17 school calendar, the length of the day at each school, the beginning and ending times for each school, the preschool calendar, and the shortened exam days at HHS and the shortened days for PD at all five schools.

• 2016-17 School Year Calendar

Order #1595 - Motion Passed:  Approval of the Calendar for the 2016-17 School Year passed with a motion by Mrs. Lisa Duckworth and a second by Mr. John Weyer.

• FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM SUMMARY

Jon Stratton gave a mid-year review of our lunch program which showed a balance increase of more than $95,000 from this time last year.

• CDIP 2015-2016

Ginger Webb gave the Board an overview of the Comprehensive District Improvement Plan (CDIP), explaining the five goals for our district.

Gene Kirchner noted that the annual KSBA conference is February 26-28, and that the HHS Orchestra is scheduled to perform at Friday's opening session.

Order #1596 - Motion Passed:  With all Board members having had the opportunity to review and pursue any questions about all of the items contained therein, approval of the consent agenda passed with a motion by Mr. Jeff Beach and a second by Mrs. Karen Allen.

• Minutes - 12-14-2015 Board Meeting

• Technology Report for December 2015

• Financial Report for December 2015

• Food Service Report for November 2015

• Attendance 4th Month 15-16

• December Payment Register

Employment of the following Paraprofessionals
Mike Rouse – Fitness Center Coordinator – HHS
Emily Burns – Winter Guard – HHS

Employment of the following Classified Substitute
Michelle Roeding

Board Chair Karen Allen reminded everyone of the HMS Theatre production of "The Wizard of Oz" January 28-31, 2016.

Board Chair Karen Allen adjourned the meeting at 7:51pm.