USD 408 board changes time for December meeting years ago
Early morning meeting will allow members to tour district classrooms
Staff writer
The December meeting of Marion-Florence USD 408 Board of Education will take place in the morning rather than at night in order to allow members the opportunity to tour district schools.
The board voted 6-0 Monday night to change the Dec. 6 meeting start time to 7 a.m. Board member Roger Hannaford was not present.
Typically, school board meetings are held the second Monday of the month. However, this summer the board approved setting the meeting one week earlier as a means of avoiding conflict with Christmas programs.
Superintendent Lee Leiker told board members he could "foresee many benefits" to the district if the board were to tour classrooms.
"I realize this may conflict with some work schedules, but I feel this is a great opportunity for teachers and classrooms to show the board what they're doing," Leiker said.
Leiker said the board could begin its meeting early; adjourn for tours, then come back to finish business afterward if necessary.
Board member Sarah Cope said she felt the tours would be "very beneficial to me."
Board member Kathy Meierhoff said she would prefer limiting the event to only half a day so members wouldn't have to take a full day off work.
She also noted it would be difficult for some patrons to attend a meeting during the day.
Board president Rex Savage said it would be "no problem" moving the meeting time.
Although the full board will travel from building to building, Leiker said he would arrange a schedule so every classroom would be visited by a group of board members. He noted it would not be feasible for all members to visit every classroom in the district.
District insurance
Noting he was "one month early," Casey Case of Case and Son Insurance Inc., Marion, presented board members with proposed premium costs for the annual renewal of district insurance.
He noted the district had obtained its insurance from EMC for "close to 10 years."
Case reported premium rates would see an overall increase of six percent or $2,989. That amount is much lower than the past two years when district premiums increased 42 and 28 percent.
"Insurance industry rates increased overall after Sept. 11 (2001)," he said. "I was pleasantly surprised to see it (increase) was not more than six percent."
Case noted the district was benefiting from a nearly $3,000 decrease on commercial auto insurance due to "improved results over the last three years." Collision deductibles were raised from $100 to $250.
"A couple losses came off which resulted in a pretty major decrease," Case said.
However, the district saw a $5,897 increase in the property premium with the total blanket limit increasing by a little over $1 million, Case said.
"EMC had some discrepancies with some other districts and found the valuation system is outdated," Case said. "So you're getting $1 million more in property coverage."
The district's total blanket coverage is $16,895,311.
Case noted the Florence buildings are insured on a cash value basis only and the district's biggest item is the combined Marion High School/Middle School complex which has $4.6 million coverage. Marion Elementary School has $4.1 million in coverage. Last year, the MHS/MES complex was insurance at $4.3 million, while the elementary was at $3.8 million.
"Besides the increase on property and decrease on auto, everything else is pretty much what you had last year," he said.
After discussion, the board approved 6-0 the total proposed renewal premium of $51,376.
In other matters, the board:
— Congratulated coaches and members of the MHS football team which finished its season as co-league champions.
Coach Grant Thierolf said the district's first season with the Mid-Central Activities Association has been a "challenge."
"(Other) teams were very complimentary of these young men," Thierolf said, indicating the players. "They represented Marion very well."
Responding to a question posed by Leiker, Thierolf said coaching in the MCAA league was "a lot different" both physically and mentally. "It's a whole lot harder league," he said.
— Heard a presentation from FCCLA members Nikki Johnson and Kasey Evans and sponsor Myrta Billings regarding no smoking signs the group had received.
The "Tobacco Free Grounds" signs will be placed on the grounds of the Marion High School football field, outside the gymnasiums at MHS and Marion Elementary School, and on other school property.
Athletic director/Marion Middle School principal Tod Gordon noted this would help in enforcing the "smoke free" zones on school property. He noted many patrons do not realize they cannot smoke on district property.
— Viewed a power point presentation by Missy Stubenhofer showing Marion students' results after taking Kansas assessment and ITBS tests.
— Heard Peabody-Burns USD 398 Board of Education would decide that night whether or not to enter into a baseball and softball cooperative agreement with USD 408. If Peabody-Burns board approves the agreement, the Marion-Florence board will take action during the December meeting.
Gordon noted Peabody officials felt they might have 10 softball players and 14 baseball players; however, cost was a concern.
He also noted the main difference between this and other cooperative agreements the district has had in the past was that Peabody does not plan to offer baseball or softball programs in the future.
"They just don't have the kids," Gordon said.
— Agreed to evaluate new superintendent Leiker using the same method which has been used in the past. Board president Rex Savage asked members to turn in evaluation forms before the next board meeting in time for him to tabulate results.
Leiker noted superintendents new to a district are required to be evaluated during both first and second semesters.
— Approved an out-of-district enrollment request allowing Anna Krich of Hillsboro to enroll at MHS. If permission is granted, she will live in Marion with a family member.
— Approved the second reading of district policies. During the October meeting, board members approved new policies from the years 2000 to 2004 during a first reading.
Answering a concern expressed last month by board member Keith Collett who said he felt utilizing the word "weapon" to define a weapon was inappropriate in the weapon's policy. Leiker said he visited with Kansas Association of School Board attorneys who said the language of the policy was taken directly from Kansas Statutes Books.
