BY TONY FURSE | October 19, 2022

In addition to making decisions on district credit card limits, a report located elsewhere in this issue, the Unified School District 362 board of education acted on personnel items at its Oct. 10 monthly meeting.

Following two executive sessions totaling 12 minutes for non-elected personnel, the board hired Jamie Hambsch and Whitney Minchew as cooks, Kim Halaquist as a La Cygne Elementary aide, and Shannon Day, Shanna Richards, Darlene Stewart and Stephanie Yates as substitute teachers.

The board approved the transfer of Shayla Meyer from teaching aide to health clerk and accepted the resignations of Meriah Mitzner as La Cygne Elementary health clerk and Will Shannon as assistant high school baseball coach.

In another 6-0 action, with Brad Stainbrook not present, the board approved district strategic supports, a part of the district’s accreditation process, as recommended by Rex Bollinger, Ed.D., district superintendent. 

Bollinger said highlights of the report fall under ‘student achievement’ to research and institute programs to combat bullying and to address the social emotional health of students and staff and under ‘facilities and technology’ to research costs to replace the track and update the softball and baseball fields with turf. (The full strategic supports document to the board can be found under agenda item 7.1 of the Oct. 10 electronic board agenda at http://www.pv362.org.)

Bollinger also hopes to have additional periodic community meetings with district patrons, saying he will want to “take them away from the district office” and to the various towns instead to lessen any intimidation factor.

He explained that the current strategic supports document is a result of meetings “months back” with community groups, all licensed staff and administrative team, some classified staff, and students down to the fourth-grade level.

In information items broached by the board, Andrea Richardson, Prairie View Middle School principal, answered Brad Heide, board member, during principals’ reports that a Sept. 30 suicide prevention presentation, first presented to the high school and then to her students and staff, was funded by Grady’s Kids Inc., a local philanthropic organization.

During the student services report, Heide said that the Buffalo Attendance Matters incentive program “seems to be going well. I’ve heard some good things.”

Responded Beth Sandness, student services director, “It’s been fun to do.”

Under the board’s executive session agenda item, no action resulted from two closed-door meetings totaling 10 minutes for student confidentiality.