On Feb. 10, the Rock Hills school board met. Those present were Lori Slate, Bobi Fogo, Brenden Wirth, Kenny Mizner, Marc Grout, Kari Kephart, Sam Meyers, Janet Higer and Trevor Elkins.
Rock Hills School has missed five full days (11/26, 1/13, 1/17, 1/20, 1/22), had three 2-hour delays (12/16, 1/14, 1/23), and dismissed at 2 p.m. once (1/10) due to inclement weather which would cause hazardous driving conditions so far this school year. Students are required to attend 1,116 hours per year. Delays and early releases due to inclement weather which will cause hazardous driving conditions are counted as a full day of school. Each full day in session is 6.86 hours, and students are scheduled for 171 days in session. Additionally, parent-teacher conference time and teacher in-service time counts toward the 1,116 hours per year.
The state legislature is considering putting $30 million towards SPED this year to move funding closer to the 92 percent threshold. If this funding does not continue for next year, it will have a negative effect on maintenance of effort.
Kephart, Meyers and Hamel attended a meeting to learn more about implementing the Kansas Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) model at Rock Hills. This would allow Rock Hills to receive free support from the Kansas Technical Assistance Systems Network (TASN) to improve the implementation of MTSS at each building to better meet students’ needs. The decision to engage with TASN for this support will be made after the new superintendent for Rock Hills is selected to allow him or her to provide input into this decision.
Amanda McGuire, Parents as Teachers (PAT) director, will be requesting $11,384 from USD 107 for FY21, the same amount as FY20 and FY19, for PAT services.
Parent-teacher conferences were well attended. Teachers met with the families of 142 out of 167 students (85 percent). Teachers will contact parents who did not attend to share information, as the goal for RHES conferences is 100 percent.
The latest projections for class sizes for 2020-2021 are as follows:
Preschool: 30 - 4-year-olds (16 a.m.; 12 p.m.); 20 - 3-year-olds (9 a.m.; 10 p.m.); kindergarten- 20; first grade- 28; second grade- 19; third grade-19; fourth grade-25; fifth grade-27.
Through the four Family Friday events this year at RHES, 64 percent of students have had someone sit or eat with them for a meal.
RHES celebrated Global School Play Day 2020 on Feb. 5. The Rock Hills Booster Club provided activities and arranged volunteers (parents, community members and RHJSHS students) to help make this day a success.
RHES will celebrate Read Across America Day on March 2.
The following language was passed for the inclement weather policy: If school is postponed or cancelled for inclement weather, conducting or participating in any activities for that day will be at the discretion of the administration.
A bid from Heritage Insurance for $50,509 for the district liability insurance policy was approved
Dennis Miller from Mapes & Miller presented the district audit report for FY 19 and reviewed the audit performance.
The proposal from Mapes & Miller for budget preparation for the 2020-2021 budget, not to exceed $1,800 was approved.
Brenden Wirth reported on architect meetings held with the STEAM Committee. Sam Meyers will coordinate another meeting of the STEAM Committee.
Supt. Kephart reported that Kenny Mizner has been honored by the Kansas Association of School Boards for his participation in trainings and meetings attended over the past year. Points are awarded on a yearly basis for attendance at regional and state conferences and participation in specialized training at the local level. The points are totaled at the end of the program year. For this year, Kenny is 1 of 470 KASB members to receive Level One Certificates (25-74 points).
The 6th grade class and the 10th grade class have been participating in SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education) curriculum sessions provided by the K-State Research and Extension Post Rock District.
During the halftime of the boys varsity basketball game on Tuesday, contributions from the memorial funds of Lynn Scarrow and Brad Ost that assisted in the purchase of the new gym banners and Grizzly mural in the gymnasium were recognized. Wednesday, the junior class traveled to Topeka to take part in the Legislative Experiences sponsored by Farm Bureau.
Rock Hills will be the host site for the Regional Basketball tournament on Feb. 24 through 29.
March 3 will be the eighth grade Career and Technical Education and pre-enrollment night. During this event, parents and students will be able to hear about the different pathway options in the career and technical courses during their high school experience, pre-enroll for their freshman year and map out their courses for future years of classes.
A discussion was held on the value of the district hosting regional events.
The board accepted the following resignations: Maureen Lewis effective Feb. 7; Katie Whelchel as head junior high volleyball coach effective at the end of the school year; John Harkness as bus driver effective at the end of the school year; Arika Kuhlmann as agricultural educator and FFA advisor effective at the end of the school year; and the retirement of Delores Angleton as secretary and bookkeeper at the junior-senior high effective Aug. 1, with gratitude from the Board for her years of service.
The regular meeting for March will be held at 12 p.m. March 16.
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