Audit Report & Playground Equipment
The Council School Board met for their regular meeting on October 27. It was postponed a week from their normal meeting date. Board members Jen Hamaker and Bob Grossen were absent.
The first order of business was a briefing on the annual audit report from Quest CPAs. No major issues were noted in this report. The district does have about a three and a half month operating reserve totaling about $859,000. The general fund did see about a $36,000 loss from last year, which was covered by a transfer from another account within the district.
Part of this audit report was a discussion about ensuring that public funds that the district holds in various bank accounts are FDIC ensured. This means that account balances not be over the insurable limit and possibly moving funds to ensure this.
Interim Superintendent Brian Joyce reported that the District’s employee of the month for September was Val Armichardy. Katie Berger earned employee of the month for October.
A big item that both Brian Joyce and Elementary Principle Leo Fontana are working on is the Continuous Improvement plan. This stems from the Council School District being designated an underperforming district by the state. This designation comes with a lot of administrative work as well as mentoring for district administrators. This is a multi-year process.
Joyce is planning on having a first draft of the Strategic Improvement Plan to the board by December 1.
The High School Cross Country team qualified to compete at state. Joyce reported that this is the first time that the team has qualified for state as a whole in school history. Individual runners have qualified in the past.
Fontana reported that used playground equipment was purchased with private donations and PTO funds for about $8,000. Installation may have to wait until springtime.
Fontana reported that the Special Education corrective action plan is progressing and that it is ongoing work.
On October 17 smoke was discovered in the High School. The fire department responded but was not able to locate the source of this smoke. Royce Bauer reported that an HVAC fan for a room had failed and that this was the source.
The board is currently reviewing policies on drug testing, financial management and transportation. This is to refine procedures when questions and unique situations arise. The transportation issue stems from students getting off the bus at unapproved stops.
A bid was opened from Ivey Construction for snow removal. The quote was for $100 per hour and was the only bid the district has received in months for this work. It was approved by the board.
Board Member Jennifer Hamaker was able to join by phone for an executive session. Afterwards, several new assistant coaches and substitutes were hired.
