An ending and a beginning were both celebrated Monday in the Brady Library at Perry High School during the monthly meeting of the Perry Community School District Board of Education.
Retiring Superintendent Lynn Ubben chaired the final meeting of her 27-year career as an administrator. She has been superintendent for the Perry district since 2009 and will pass the torch July 1 to Clark Wicks.
While Ubben was attending her last meeting in an official capacity, new board director Casey Baldwin was experiencing his first. Son of the late board director Marjean Gries, Baldwin was appointed last month to complete his mother’s term.
Both Baldwin’s seat and that of Board President Kyle Baxter are up for election Sep. 12. Monday, July 10 is the first day to file nomination papers with Board Secretary Kent Bultman for a seat. The final day on which nomination papers will be accepted is Thursday, Aug. 3.
The first order of business Monday was an insurance presentation. Barry Bengtson, EMC agent, discussed with the board the value of being in a group plan with other districts.
He noted Perry had received a premium refund of nearly $30,000 in the last fiscal year, slightly more than 10 percent of the cost of the premium. Bengston said most insurance companies — which would include Perry’s coverage — were moving to present “savings in premiums up front.”
“This is so that you are not waiting around 14 months to be refunded,” he explained. “It is a bit of a change, but one I think is for the better.”
PACES Director Mary Hillman presented to the board a detailed summer schedule and review of many of the activities planned for the PACES kids.
“We always try to have a theme for the summer, something we can learn about and have first-hand experience with as well,” Hillman said. “Last year was the 100th anniversary of our 59 National Parks, so we have decided to follow up on that with the theme for this summer being Exploring the National Parks.”
The first day of the season was June 5, with the term to run through Aug. 4. PACES is open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday but will be closed Monday and Tuesday, July 3-4.
Hillman noted PACES had 141 students enrolled this summer. Sixteen are in pre-kindergarten, and another 16 in what she called “upper pre-k,” while 22 youngsters are in kindergarten itself. There are 24 first grade students, 31 in grades 2-3 and another 32 in grades 4-5, the upper limit for PACES.
The board approved staff hourly rates for summer 2017 as well at the payment price plan requested. Fees are based on school lunch financial qualifications. Prices for those on free lunch are $60 weekly for one child, $90 for two children and $120 for three. Reduced lunch fee schedule is $80/$120/$160, and full lunch rates are $100/$150/$200.
Shannon Cline, Teacher Leadership Compensation (TLC) Coordinator, presented a summary of TLC’s impact in the 2016-2017 academic year.
“I believe the biggest success was experienced by our mentoring program,” Cline said. “We have 15 terrific mentors, and they have had a great and positive impact on the first- and second-year teachers, which would include those teachers who are maybe not new but are new to the district.”
Cline praised what he called “the active and positive” support of the district’s administration and of the principals at each of the three public schools.
Board Director Linda Andorf said she was of the opinion that “the teachers have been very receptive” to TLC, especially — and this applied chiefly to the more veteran staff — after it became clear “this wasn’t somebody else looking over their shoulder but instead a way to help, bolster and support” what they were doing in the classroom.
“I feel we went beyond what I or any of the coaches expected, and we came into the year with some pretty high expectations,” Cline said. “One thing that I think we will want to do next year is to celebrate all the small successes we are having along the way.”
Elementary Co-Principal Ned Menke reported to the board on the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) program.
He noted that in 2014-2015 there were 351 total referrals to the principal’s office for disciplinary issues but was pleased to report the number had fallen to 205 for the past year.
“This represents about 12 percent of the student body, but if you look at the numbers in detail, you will see that many of those are first-time or one-time issues,” Menke said. “We had seven students make up 40 percent of those 205 referrals.”
Menke noted an office referral is issued only after intervention by teachers or staff require further attention.
“We are on the right path and want to keep improving,” he said. “I think part of this is the repetition with which we address the issue. We are constantly telling the kids ‘Be respectable, responsible and safe,’ and it does sink in.”
Menke said the youngsters “all like being recognized for good behavior, as well, which we do through our Bluejay Leaders and in other ways. The teachers have been great about promoting this, and a lot of the credit has to go to the kids themselves for wanting to live up to those standards.”
The board voted to transfer $9,035.78 from the General Fund to the Student Activity Fund. The money will be used for protective and safety equipment used in extracurricular activities, football in particular.
A lengthy list of agenda items receiving board approval followed. Agreed to were contract extensions with Hiland Dairy for milk, juice and dairy products, with 21st Century Rehab PC for sports medicine services and with DMACC on a concurrent enrollment agreement, which includes a raise of $10 per student to $120.
Ubben submitted her final superintendent’s report and noted a PCS desk audit found “no non-compliance issues” regarding state accreditation standards and applicable federal program requirements.
A long series of commendations were noted, and the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR Up) grant coordinator position requirements were approved.
The board agreed to the 2017-2018 mentor roster and additions to the 2017-2018 support staff roster while consenting to several policy revisions. The district’s intent to participate in the SAI Mentoring and Induction Program was given the go-ahead, as was a change from $5 per month to $60 per year in the automatic deduction for employee use of cell phones.
A 28E sharing agreement between the board, St. Patrick’s Catholic School (Gingerbread House) and Perry Area Child Development Center for preschool for 4-year-olds was approved for the 2017-2018 school year, as were several personnel matters.
The Perry School Board meets the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Brady Library at Perry High School. All meetings are open to the public, which is encouraged to attend.
