USD 333 board approves hires

The hiring of two new English language arts teachers at the Concordia Junior-Senior High School for the 2020-21 school year was approved by the Unified School District 333 board of education during its regular meeting on Monday night.
The board approved the hiring of Danielle Friesen, pending Kansas licensure, to a new teaching position and Ashley Billings, pending Kansas licensure, to replace Lora Watson, who is retiring at the end of the current school year.
Also included in the certified staff changes for 2020-21 approved by the board were the transfer of Mandy Davis to kindergarten teacher to replace Megan James and the transfer of Lisa McFadden to Learning Cooperative of North Central Kansas 5th/6th grade interrelated teacher to replace Sharon Krueger, who is retiring.
Included in the classified staff changes approved by the board was the transfer of Martina Gieber to the head secretary at the junior-senior high school to replace Julie Smith, who is retiring.
The board approved appointing chairman Mark Nordell and vice chairman Tony Miller to the negotiation team.
Action on administrator contracts was tabled by the board until the March meeting.
The regular March meeting will be on March 16 because of spring break.
The board met in two separate executive sessions, which included superintendent of schools Quentin Breese, for a total of an hour for the purpose of discussing non-elected personnel.
Denis Miller, Mapes & Miller LLP, presented the audit report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2019, to the board.
The board approved accepting the audit report.
Bailey Burgess, a counselor at the Concordia Junior-Senior High School, gave a presentation to the board on a proposal to switch to a modified block schedule.
“With a lot of the improvement things we are doing with staff, one of  things that came back in surveying staff, which is nothing new, is 'we need more time,” Burgess said.
Burgess said that a modified block schedule would provide opportunities for collaboration by staff.
Also discussed by the board during the meeting was compensation for classified staff for snow days.
District policy states that when the superintendent calls a snow day, all classified staff, that are not 12 month employees, are not to report to work. Classified staff that are 12 month employees report to work at regular hours in order to get paid. Use of a discretionary day for the snow day is permissible; otherwise, classified staff will not receive pay for the snow day. Sick leave is not allowed on snow days.
Breese said that the decision on whether or not to call a snow day is one of the more difficult decisions he makes.
“What you think about is the student safety, and then you think about staff. Because classified staff typically don't get paid on those days,” Breese said.
It was reported that classified staff can exchange three sick days for one discretionary day which could be used for a snow day, up to five total.
“We had three snow days in one week. That is very hard when you depend on your pay check,” Kim Peterson, a paraprofessional at the junior-senior high school, said to the board.
Board member John Culley said that something needs to be done.
“It is already budgeted in (pay for classified staff), it is already there. All the district is doing with a snow day is saving that amount of money,” Culley said.
It was reported that one option for paraprofessionals to offset the days of work missed because of snow days was to attend the in-services offered by the district and receive pay for those days.
“We encourage our paras and food service and bus drivers to come in on those in-service days because I feel a lot better about that than just giving people a free day,” Breese said.
A Jobs for America's Graduates – Kansas (JAG-K) partnership agreement/memorandum of understanding was presented to the board for consideration.
Action will be taken on the agreement during the March meeting.
JAG-K, a not-for-profit Kansas corporation, receives program and financial support from corporate and  foundation contributions, public sector grants and participating school districts.
JAG-K creates business, industry and education partnerships committed to achieving the mission of JAG, which is to ensure that at-risk high school students remain in school, attain basic employability skills through classroom and career-based learning experiences during the student's time in the JAG-K program, are provided with academic support services, graduate and receive 12 months of follow-up services by the JAG-K career specialist.
Jordan Champlin is the JAG-K career specialist for USD 333, and there are 55 students in the program.
Total cost of the USD 333 JAG-K program is approximately $73,000. The cost to the district is currently $11,000.
Breese reported to the board that a committee was being formed to discuss the district's supplemental salary schedule.
Kelly Struebing, director of operations and technology director, talked to the board about a STOPIT Solutions phone app that would allow students to anonymously report bullying, dangerous situations and other troubling matters.
The app is designed to create a safer school climate and try to help kids in distress.
Cost to the district would be $1,800 per year after the first year and a half.