March 8, 2021 at 6:30 PM - Board Meeting in Almena

Mr. Gebhard asked to add 8g. Out of District Request to the agenda. Made a motion to approve the agenda with the addition of 8g. This motion, made by Christopher Rogers and seconded by Shanna Hammond, Carried.

I recommend the board approve the minutes of the February meeting as presented. This motion, made by Shanna Hammond and seconded by Laquita Smith, Carried.

I recommend the board approve the bills as presented. This motion, made by Rich Wenzl and seconded by Steven Whitney, Carried.

Made a motion to go into executive session to discuss nonelected personnel matters in order to protect the privacy interests of the individual(s) and that we return to open session in this room at 6:53 p.m. retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman. This motion, made by Laquita Smith and seconded by Rich Wenzl, Carried.

6:53 p.m. Returned to open session. Made a motion to go into executive session to discuss nonelected personnel matters in order to protect the privacy interests of the individual(s) and that we return to open session in this room at 7:03 p.m. retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman. This motion, made by Laquita Smith and seconded by Rich Wenzl, Carried.

7:03 p.m. Returned to open session. Made a motion to go into executive session to discuss nonelected personnel matters in order to protect the privacy interests of the individual(s) and that we return to open session in this room at 7:08 p.m. retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman. This motion, made by Laquita Smith and seconded by Rich Wenzl, Carried.

7:08 p.m. Returned to open session. Information from Luke Sobba, the County Health Department and the original Reopening Plan was provided. Made a motion that effective April 5, 2021 that the wording in the Reopening Plan will change from masks "required", to masks" are recommended". If the spread of COVID changes then this document will also change. This motion, made by Shanna Hammond and seconded by Steven Whitney, Carried.

I recommend the board approve the purchase of new iPads to replace the current ones using ESSER funds. This motion, made by Steven Whitney and seconded by Christopher Rogers, Carried.

Made a motion to go into executive session to discuss matters affecting a student in order to protect the privacy interests of the individual(s) and that we return to open session in this room at 7:54 p.m. retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman. This motion, made by Christopher Rogers and seconded by Rich Wenzl, Carried.

Mr. Tharman shared that he had visited with Revival Lawn Care and proceeded to share what he was told. They are not a hundred percent sure on what to charge for mowing, but based on another contract, they are guessing between $35 - $40 and hour.  They want to allow natural development of grasses.  It will take a couple times of mowing to determine how long it will take and thus, nail down the pricing.  Use of our mowers is what is proposed. I recommend the board approve Revival Lawn Care's bid for spraying the Almena grounds and mowing for the 2021 year. This motion, made by Shanna Hammond and seconded by Steven Whitney, Carried.

Made a motion to go into executive session to discuss nonelected personnel matters in order to protect the privacy interests of the individual(s) and that we return to open session in this room at 8:09 p.m. retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman. This motion, made by Christopher Rogers and seconded by Shanna Hammond, Carried.

8:09 p.m. Returned to open session. Made a motion to accept the resignation of Mrs. Whitney as the 5-12 Instrumental Music and K-12 Vocal Music teacher effective the end of the 2020-2021 school year. This motion, made by Laquita Smith and seconded by Shanna Hammond, Carried.

I recommend the board go into executive session to discuss nonelected personnel matters to protect the privacy interests of the individual to be discussed, retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman and returning to open session at 8:40 p.m. in this board room. This motion, made by Shanna Hammond and seconded by Laquita Smith, Carried.

8:40 p.m. Returned to open session. I recommend the board go into executive session to discuss nonelected personnel matters to protect the privacy interests of the individual to be discussed, retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman and returning to open session at 8:55 p.m. in this board room. This motion, made by Shanna Hammond and seconded by Laquita Smith, Carried.

8:55 p.m. Returned to open session. I recommend the board go into executive session to discuss nonelected personnel matters to protect the privacy interests of the individual to be discussed, retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman and returning to open session at 9:07 p.m. in this board room. This motion, made by Shanna Hammond and seconded by Laquita Smith, Carried.

Made a motion to go into executive session to discuss nonelected personnel matters in order to protect the privacy interests of the individual(s) and that we return to open session in this room at 9:12 p.m. This motion, made by Shanna Hammond and seconded by Rich Wenzl, Carried.

9:12 p.m. Returned to open session. Made a motion to extend the administrator's contracts one year, making them a two year contract. This motion, made by Steven Whitney and seconded by Shanna Hammond, Carried.

I recommend the board approve Cindy Wright and Rebecca Lawhorn's leave requests in conjunction with spring break. This motion, made by Christopher Rogers and seconded by Steven Whitney, Carried.

Mr. Tharman shared that proposal A received 11 votes and proposal B received 7 from the information the NVEA had gathered. I recommend the board approve Proposal A for the 2021 - 2022 School Calendar. This motion, made by Laquita Smith and seconded by Steven Whitney, Carried.

I recommend the board go into executive session to discuss negotiation matters to protect the public interest in negotiating a fair and equitable contract, retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman and returning to open session at 9:35 p.m. in this board room. This motion, made by Laquita Smith and seconded by Shanna Hammond, Carried.

9:35 p.m. returned to open session. I recommend the board go into executive session to discuss negotiation matters to protect the public interest in negotiating a fair and equitable contract, retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman and returning to open session at 9:38 p.m. in this board room. This motion, made by Laquita Smith and seconded by Shanna Hammond, Carried.

9:38 p.m. Returned to open session. I recommend the board go into executive session to discuss negotiation matters to protect the public interest in negotiating a fair and equitable contract, retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman and returning to open session at 9:43 p.m. in this board room. This motion, made by Laquita Smith and seconded by Shanna Hammond, Carried.

I recommend the board approve the move to the new website and app technology. This motion, made by Steven Whitney and seconded by Laquita Smith, Carried.

I recommend the board go into executive session to discuss nonelected personnel matters to protect the privacy interests of the individual to be discussed, retaining Mr. Gebhard and Mr. Tharman and returning to open session at 9:55 p.m. in this board room. This motion, made by Laquita Smith and seconded by Shanna Hammond, Carried.

Made a motion to adjourn. This motion, made by Shanna Hammond and seconded by Laquita Smith, Carried.