Brandon Valley School District Minutes

Brandon Valley School District 

_________ Minutes _________

The regular meeting of the Brandon Valley Board of Education, Brandon, SD was held at 6:30 p.m. on the 28th of October, 2019 at the Brandon Valley High School Community Room with the following members present:  Renee Ullom, Gregg Ode, Ellie Saxer, Dan Klumper, and Gregg Talcott (via phone).  Absent: None.  Also present were Superintendent Jarod Larson, Business Manager Paul J. Lundberg, High School Principal Mark Schlekeway, Assistant High School Principal Bill Freking, Activities Director Randy Marso, Middle School Principal Brad Thorson, Intermediate School Principal Nick Skibsted, Assistant Intermediate School Principal Rick Pearson, Valley Springs Elementary Principal Tanya Palmer, Brandon Elementary Principal Merle Horst, Director of Instruction Sherri Nelson, and Operations Manager Ty Hentschel.

Renee Ullom called the regular meeting to order at 6:30 p.m., beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Motion by Klumper, seconded by Saxer to approve the agenda as presented. On a roll call, the following voted aye:  Klumper, Saxer, Ode, Talcott, and Ullom; voted nay:  none.  Motion carried.

Administrative reports were presented.   Superintendent Larson reported that the 2019 State Aid Enrollment   final number is 4,427.13 students.  This is a growth of 177 students from the previous year.

Associated School Boards of South Dakota (ASBSD) held the last of the regional meetings on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 in Harrisburg, SD where Board Member Gregg Talcott and Dr. Jarod Larson were in attendance to discuss the up-coming legislative session.  ASBSD will also be hosting the delegate assembly on Friday, November 15, 2019 in Pierre, SD where Board Member Ellie Saxer, chair for the city/state legislative committee, will be attending this delegate assembly.  

The 2020-21 academic school-year calendar development committee made up of the Administrative Council, Teacher Liaison Council, and the Classified Council has completed an initial draft with a tentative adoption time-line for the initial presentation on Monday, January 13, 2020 and the potential approval action on Monday, January 27, 2020 at the regularly scheduled Board of Education meetings.

Larson outlined the Sparta Elementary School construction time-line as follows:

Fall 2019/Winter 2020:  Construction planning meetings with Administration, Buildings and Grounds Committee, and Architect

February 2020:  Bid the construction project

Spring 2020:  Construction begins

Fall 2020:  Elementary boundary line committee meets

2020-21 School year:  Construction continues

Fall 2021:  School opens

The upcoming 2019-20 school year important dates to remember: no school on Monday November 11, 2019 for the Veteran’s Day Holiday; no school on Wednesday-Friday, November 27-29 for the Thanksgiving Holiday break; 2-hour early dismissal on Friday, December 20, 2019; no school on Monday, December 23, 2019 through Wednesday, January 1, 2020 for Winter break.  School resumes on Thursday, January 2, 2020.

The next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. in the Brandon Valley High School Community Room.

Lastly, Superintendent Larson presented the 5th, 8th, and 11th Grade ELA/Math/Science Performance scores as well as the Brandon Valley High School 2019 ACT Data for the Board of Education’s information and review.

Superintendent Jarod Larson addressed the Board on the 2019-20 School Improvements plans presented for the Board of Education’s review as follows:

1. Brandon Elementary

2. Valley Springs Elementary

3. Robert Bennis Elementary

4. Fred Assam Elementary

5. Brandon Valley Intermediate School

6. Brandon Valley Middle School

7. Brandon Valley High School

Motion by Klumper, seconded by Saxer to approve the following general business items:

1. Approve American Deposit Management, LLC (ADM) as a depository for Bond Issue Proceeds ($17M).

2. Approve budget for Sparta Elementary School Building Project as presented.

3. Approve Tuition Agreement by and between the Brandon Valley School District #49-2 and the Sioux Falls Children’s Home Society for one student at a rate of $109.81/day, five days/week,, effective October 23, 2019 through October 22, 2020, as  presented.

4. Approve contract by and between the Brandon Valley School District #49-2 and the McCrossan Boys Ranch for educational services for one student at a rate of $70.29/day, seven days/week, effective October 28, 2019 through June 30, 2020, as presented.

5. Approve request for authorization to purchase two Dodge Grand Caravans via the 2019 State of South Dakota Vehicle Specification for 2020 or newer vehicles, at a total cost of $42,524.00 total, as presented.

6. Approve standard form of agreement by and between the Brandon Valley School District #49-2 and Architecture Incorporated for Sparta Elementary School project as presented.

Motion by Klumper, seconded by Saxer to approve the general business items as presented. On a roll call, the following voted aye:  Klumper, Saxer, Ode, Talcott, and Ullom; voted nay:  none.  Motion carried.

Motion by Saxer, seconded by Ode to approve the following personnel items:

1. Approve recommendation to hire Noah Leners, BVHS Special Education Educational Assistant, $14.75/hour, effective October 21, 2019.

2. Approve recommendation to hire substitutes for the 2019-20 school year as follows:  Serena Hopf, Zachary Koosman, Darin Porter, and Teresa Sissoko

Motion by Saxer, seconded by Ode to approve the personnel items as presented. On a roll call, the following voted aye:  Saxer, Ode, Klumper, Talcott, and Ullom; voted nay:  none.  Motion carried.

The following personnel item was presented to the Board of Education as information only:

1. Request for medical leave by Keren Shafer, VSE Special Education Educational Assistant, beginning on November 13, 2019 for approximately 4-6 weeks.

Board Member Gregg Talcott reported on a recent Safety Committee meeting.  

Travel reports were heard.

Superintendent Larson reported that Board Member Talcott will be joining future board meetings via phone for the next few months as he serves a long-term administration substitute position at St. Michael Albertville High School in Albertville, Minnesota.

Activities Director Randy Marso reported that over the last weekend, there were four State Championship contests and Marso was proud to announce that Brandon Valley was the only High School that had teams on the awards stands at each competition.  Congratulations LYNX!

Motion by Saxer, seconded by Ode to adjourn the meeting at 6:40 p.m.  On a roll call, the following voted aye:  Saxer, Ode, Klumper, Talcott, and Ullom; voted nay:  none.  Motion carried.

Signed

Business Manager

Approved by the Board of Education this 12th day of November, 2019.

Signed

Chairperson

Published once at the approximate cost of $67.54

November 13, 2019