June 14, 2021 at 6:30 PM - Board Meeting in Long Island

Discussion:  Vice President Hammond called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.  Michelle Tharman was contacted by Vice President Hammond and appointed to temporary board clerk for this evening's meeting since the back-up board clerk was unavailable. Guests included Glenn Brands, Lloyd Culbertson, and Art Lee.  Jim Johnson (Attorney for First National Bank) was on via Zoom.
 

Discussion:  Glenn Brands went over the EMC Insurance quote he had prepared.  There was about a ten percent (10%) increase in overall pricing this year.  Mr. Brands asked if the board was planning to discuss the signage on the scoreboard and mats.  It is the last item on the agenda. 

Discussion:  Jim Johnson visited with the board about the lease purchase agreement First National Bank and Trust was doing with Northern Valley Schools for the window replacement project.  The documents concerning the lease purchase agreement were in the board packet.  Mr. Johnson answered the questions from Mr. Tharman.
 

Discussion:  Mr. Lee shared that he had updated the amortization schedule with the new bid total.  Once the discussion was over (6:53 PM), Mr. Culbertson and Mr. Lee thanked the board for the opportunity to work with them and then left the meeting.  Mr. Johnson logged off as well.

Discussion:  These were the documents the board reviewed during Mr. Johnson, Mr. Culbertson, and Mr. Lee's visit.
 

Discussion:  Mr. Tharman updated the board on the progress of the grants associated with the window replacement project.  The Greater Northwest Kansas Community Grant Foundation (Norton County) had contacted Mr. Tharman informing him of the $20,000 grant they had approved.  There are five other grant opportunities that we are still waiting to hear back from.  

Discussion:  Update on KJUMP group as well as utility bills.  Symmetry has announced discontinuation of services to those districts the KASB attorneys had been negotiating for.  KASB is currently seeking bids for those districts from other vendors. The bill from Symmetry is being paid incrementally and should be done by September.  Prairie Land and Midwest bills have been increased only slightly ... and the additional amounts for the February bill, were highlighted. 

Discussion:  Mr. Tharman updated the board on the KESA (Kansas Education Systems Accreditation) process.  Due to Covid restrictions, Northern Valley opted to "pause" the KESA process for this year.  This was an option provided by the state due to the unusual set of circumstances.  Next year will be Year Five for Northern Valley.  The DLT (District Leadership Team) has met regularly to ensure the appropriate documentation is being filled out.  They reworded the goals in order to show measurable data that has been collected. 

Discussion:  The handbooks that will be up for adoption/revision at the next board meeting were presented. This will give everyone a chance to look those over and to suggest changes if needed. A short discussion was held concerning the Chromebooks usage at the Middle School.  Further discussion will be had with the teachers before deciding on whether they are able to go home or stay at the school.
 

Discussion:  There was an email sent by a representative of Equity Bank with the proposal to remove/ replace the Almena State Bank, Almena Insurance, and First State Bank advertisements from scoreboards, mats, etc.  There was a lot of good discussion on the topic.  Mr. Tharman will reach out to that party and discuss options.  It was agreed that there was no real hurry in regard to the project at this time.

Discussion:  Mr. Tharman shared Thank You's received from Jean Clifford (State Board of Education District Five representative), 8th grade class and a letter from Brandi Orme to the senior class.  Gary Sechrist had sent out an email stating that people had been questioning the need for Zoom meetings .... since the State of Emergency was ending on June 15th.  Once it ends, there is no need to offer this format.  The board discussed this and decided that if there was a need for someone to zoom in that could not attend in person (ie. the lawyer from Beloit at tonight's meeting) then an invitation would be sent; otherwise the Zoom link will not be made available from this point forward to the public, as they are able to attend in person. 
Summer projects are moving along well and the lawns are being maintained and look good.  Mr. Tharman inquired about the JD mower.  It will be put on Purple Wave. 

Discussion:  Mr. Gebhard shared that we are in desperate need of bus drivers.  If anyone knows of someone, please contact him.  The teacher in-service included committee meetings and planning for next year.  The year ended with a flurry of activity including awards banquet, fun day, graduation, etc.  He attended the USA conference in Wichita and it was good.  He appreciated Covid not being as bad here as it was in other parts of the state.  There is still a need to do something with the ceiling in the old weight room; one thought was to put in a suspended ceiling, but that would be costly.  He is struggling to get bids.
 

Discussion:  No report from board members.