On March 14, the Choteau Elementary and Center College District boards authorized contracting with Central Montana Lock & Secure, LLC, of Nice Falls to put in a doorbell entry system for the varsity buildings.
Board President Levi Hodgskiss raised the query of whether or not the varsity administration ought to improve safety for employees and college students given the sharp improve at school violence lately.
The board and a number of other college members agreed that entrances to highschool buildings must be secured. A number of employees members recounted latest incidents involving offended mother and father within the elementary faculty constructing.
The board beforehand tasked upkeep supervisor Larry Sattler with acquiring budgets for a brand new safe entry system. Eventually weeks assembly, Sattler offered three budgets for safe entry methods. Central Montana Lock & Secure, with whom the district has already labored on the prevailing key entry system, offered $8,210 for elements and labor to put in the safety system on the primary doorways of the first and secondary. Along with the $8,210 set up price, Sattler mentioned, Central Montana Lock & Secure would cost a further $5 for key playing cards and $10 for key fobs.
Central Applied sciences of Hamilton provided $10,750 for a comparable system utilizing a magnetic element. Burdicks Locksmith of Helena provided a comparable system to the Central Montanas for $11,450.16 plus $7.80 for fobs and $6 for key playing cards.
Sattler mentioned he did not wish to use the magnetic system as a result of it would not tie into the varsity buildings’ hearth system. He really helpful the board contract with Central Montana Lock & Secure. This technique would put bell methods on the entrance doorways. Employees members would have their very own key playing cards for entry. Members of the general public ought to ring a bell. The video system would present constructing clerks who was on the door, and the clerks may then select between them or maintain them out. The system consists of each audio and video intercom. This technique additionally has a battery backup that can activate when the ability goes out.
As soon as the system goes in, all different doorways shall be locked through the faculty day and people planning to go to the faculties shall be required to make use of the primary entrance doorways.
Enterprise Supervisor Patty Mellinger mentioned buying the fobs and playing cards would add one other $1,000 to the price of the system. The safety system can be funded from the constructing reserve funds of the 2 faculty districts.
Interim Superintendent Jim Baldwin mentioned Julie Shepherd on the elementary faculty and Michaela Zwerneman on the center faculty can be tasked with answering the bells.
Sattler mentioned the system could possibly be put in over a few days this summer season, however head chef Cathy Campbell mentioned the system needs to be put in as quickly as doable, recounting a latest expertise with an offended father or mother in elementary faculty whose vocal feedback alarmed her.
Shepherd mentioned he is aware of cash is at all times a problem, however security is priceless. He mentioned if he had heard what this father or mother was saying, he would have locked down the varsity and known as the sheriff’s workplace as a substitute of asking the superintendent like he did. It scared me, he mentioned. I used to be a multitude for the following three days.
Baldwin advised the board that if such an occasion happens once more, that is what shall be performed: The varsity shall be locked down and the sheriff’s workplace shall be known as.
Center faculty instructor Payge Guenzler mentioned Ronan Public Faculties had an identical system when she labored there and it made employees and college students really feel safer.
The board voted unanimously to contract with Central Montana Lock & Secure to put in the system and directed Sattler to search out out when the system could possibly be put in.
The board additionally heard a one-hour presentation by Bob Moore and Halvor Kamrud (a 19XX graduate of Choteau Excessive College and son of now-retired highschool math and science instructor Norm Kamrud), with McKinstry Montana of Missoula. the corporate’s design-build program and the way colleges can use federal pandemic funding (Elementary and Secondary Emergency Reduction ESSER) to handle infrastructure wants within the context of the Federal Discount Act of inflation.
Based on their presentation literature, they mentioned Design-Construct is a distinct method of approaching faculty infrastructure tasks that’s allowed underneath sure situations set forth in state legislation. The method is streamlined and might usually full tasks at a decrease price than the normal undertaking supply method.
Faculties can use ESSER funding to handle areas reminiscent of mixed warmth and energy, constructing management methods, cooling methods, warmth restoration, supplementary constructing know-how, heating tools upgrades and refrigeration, boiler and chiller replacements, indoor air high quality testing, improved infiltration and air. non-mechanical cleansing and heating.
Public sector entities, reminiscent of public colleges, may also entry money funds equal to the worth of the funding tax credit score that may in any other case have been secured underneath the property of the taxable entity of underneath the Inflation Discount Act, and this funding may also be used to finance infrastructure tasks for photo voltaic power. power, battery storage, thermal power, gas cells and a variety of different various power sources.
McKinstry Montana can work with faculty districts to do a full power evaluation and decide if a wanted undertaking, reminiscent of changing an growing older boiler heating system, could possibly be funded by way of this method.
Kamrud is the corporate’s director of enterprise growth and Moore is a senior account government.
The varsity board requested McKinstry Montana to do a free power audit of faculty constructing utilities, took their submission underneath advisement and mentioned they might contemplate it additional on the April assembly when the audit outcomes free had been out there.
Mellinger up to date the board on faculty funding measures, which stay unsure as a result of legislature. To date, he mentioned, the state says colleges will obtain an inflationary improve of two.76 p.c of their base funding for the 2023-24 fiscal 12 months and three p.c within the 2024-25 fiscal 12 months. Based mostly on the 2023-24 inflation price, Mellinger mentioned the very best price range the Choteaus Okay-8 district may have with no vote can be $2,019,852.33; the very best with one vote can be $2,076,000 (a rise of $52,000). The present price range is $1,905,882.
The best price range the highschool may have with no vote in 2023-24 can also be the utmost price range the board can set, Mellinger mentioned, which was set at $1,338,035.35. The present price range is $1,333,812.61, so the board may improve the price range by solely $4,222.74 subsequent fiscal 12 months.
Baldwin mentioned the Legislature continues to work on payments to make it simpler for Montana to ascertain public constitution colleges. There at the moment are two payments on the difficulty, he mentioned, and each would reduce public schooling funding by stripping tuition-based cash from a district’s common colleges for each youngster who attends a constitution faculty .
He mentioned he would maintain the council up to date on legislative motion on the 2 payments.
He additionally offered the board with a proposal from Tony Warren, the superintendent of Turner Public Faculties, who additionally runs a aspect enterprise as a grant author. The board accepted the proposal and requested Warren for extra data, together with her success price, a resume and suggestions from different colleges which have used her companies.
In personnel issues, the boards authorized renewing the one-year contracts of Okay-6 Principal Rachel Christensen and 7-12 Principal Matt Cornelius for the 2023-24 faculty 12 months, with wage and advantages to barter
The board additionally accepted the resignations of longtime educator Neal Wedum, who has been working as a Title I particular schooling aide; Guenzler, who’s a center faculty social research and 7-12 bodily schooling instructor; and veteran instructor Elizabeth Jorden, who teaches fifth grade and is accepting one in all two $20,000 early retirement incentives the board has provided.
In his report, Christensen mentioned the elementary faculty is testing a pc program that helps academics concentrate on gaps in language arts and math abilities amongst college students. Elementary faculty America Reads will resume on March twentieth and Okay-6 college students can have their annual science truthful on March twenty fourth.
He additionally mentioned the brand new Okay-12 web site is progressing properly and can go dwell this month. Additionally later this month, Okay-12 colleges will host Paraprofessional Appreciation Week, March 29-April 4.
Cornelius reported that the highschool groups will compete within the Principals Cub at Simms in March, and spring sports activities started on March 13. He’s working with the highschool monitor coaches on a brand new system that integrates center and highschool tracks for additional enchancment. constant program. A couple of eighth-graders are breaking out on the highschool monitor, he mentioned, and others might in the event that they enhance and are capable of meet the efficiency metrics for highschool competitors.
He additionally applauded the highschool’s Science Olympiad crew, which repeated as small-school state champions on the March 8 competitors in Bozeman. The highschool crew positioned second amongst small colleges competing at the highschool degree.
In different actions, the board:
He licensed the senior class to take their senior journey to Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, Idaho, leaving on April thirtieth and returning on Could 1st. The category submitted a price range of $1,560-$1,950 (primarily based on meal prices) and demonstrated that it was capable of pay for journey and pay commencement prices primarily based on a $6,220.82 class account stability.
Okay-12 enrollment numbers had been reviewed from the spring depend taken in February: 197 in kindergarten by way of sixth grade; 55 in secondary faculty; and 101 in center faculty for a complete of 353. The autumn depend carried out in October 2022 had 198 in elementary faculty, 55 in center faculty and 103 in highschool for a complete of 356. These figures shall be used to calculate a share of state funding for colleges.
Board Secretary Patty Mellinger discovered that solely two candidates have filed for college board seats and the deadline to file is March 23. Incumbent Katie Adams, who was appointed to fill Mark Henderson’s seat on the elementary board, has filed to retain the seat and is operating unopposed. Jodi Johnson of Bynum has filed to fill the seat of Jerry Stott, who shouldn’t be looking for re-election because the Bynum Outlying Elementary District consultant on the highschool board.
Employed Stacey Smith of Choteau instead instructor. You could have already handed the background verify.
Permitted, pending background checks if vital, the next spring athletic volunteers: Payge Durocher, Ciadie Schlosser and Principal Matt Cornelius with monitor; and Scott Andersen with tennis.
Numerous state-required board coverage modifications handed on last studying.
The following board assembly was moved from April 11 to April 18 to keep away from conflicts with the Easter holidays. The boards’ negotiating committee will meet with the Choteau Schooling Affiliation at 6 p.m., and the common board assembly will start at 7 p.m. in the highschool library.
