Gregory Landon - Vice-Chair

Kathy King

 Cheryl Morigeau

Rhiannon Liberty

The trustees of School District No. 9 met in regular session Tuesday, November 03, 2009 in the library of the main school building.  Vice Chair Greg Landon called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.

Members Present:  Greg Landon, Kathy King, Rhiannon Liberty, Cheryl Morigeau (7:04)

Members Absent:  Boone Cole  Others Present:  Dave Bennetts, Joy White, Doug Dryden, John Beighle, Dana Darlington, Shannon Murphy, T.P., Cindy Hill (left at 7:35), Charlotte Morigeau and Mark Faroni

Agenda:  Kathy motioned to adopt the agenda as presented with a second from Rhiannon.  Motion carried.

Minutes:  Rhiannon motioned to approve the minutes of the October 06, 2009 meeting with noted changes.  Kathy seconded the motion.  Motion carried.

Student Report:  T.P. introduced himself as an eighth grader that has been in attendance since first grade at the Dixon School and plans to attend High School at either Charlo or Ronan.  His favorite things about Dixon School are the teachers, the small school atmosphere, field trips, not having to travel to get to school, and sports.  Biology is what T. P. finds to be the most difficult at school.  Current areas of study for T.P include order of operations in math, verb and verb tense in language arts, cells and organisms in science and the judicial system in government.  T.P. plans to go to college, earn a four-year degree and get a job.

Classroom/Daycare Report:  Dana Darlington presented for the daycare in the absence of Liz Posio.  The center celebrated Halloween with a variety of goodies and activities, which included parading through the school all decked out in their costumes.  The State has informed Liz that the application for license renewal is complete and the license is on the way.  Dana shared that she has taught for 14 years but that this is her first experience with preschool age children, which has proven to be the most enjoyable. Dana is pleased with the curriculum being used and is currently studying the letters G, H, I, numbers 7 and 8, and rectangles.

At 7:14 p.m. the board went into a closed session to discuss litigation strategy. 

The board resumed with reports in regular session at 7:30 p.m..

Sustainable Building Systems:  John Beighle, representative of Sustainable Building Systems, explained the funding behind the Quick Start Grant our school received through the  Montana Department of Commerce.  Our school hired Sustainable Building Systems to perform an energy audit of our facilities with this money.  A detailed audit report has been provided to our district.  John addressed the most severe needs our school faces; roof renovation and shortage or lack of insulation.  John went on to say that their company will assist the school in seeking funds to address these needs.  It is possible for our district to receive up to 75% of the total dollar amount needed to fund projects due to the low socio economics and the demographics of our school and community.  It is hopeful to fund and finish projects by or before September 2010.

AltaCare of Montana:  Dave Bennets and Joy White presented the board with a synopsis of their program, stating that they are currently partnering with 97 schools in 47 Montana School Districts.  Districts are required to provide an in-kind match of office space, heat, etc. in exchange for Federal dollars to provide a Behavior Therapist and one aide to our school to work with students in our district.

Sanders County Sheriff Training:Detective Doug Dryden of Sanders County Police Department addressed the board with a plan to execute a SWAT Training exercise at our school on Wednesday, November 04, 2009.  Letters (see attached) have been mailed to all community members via our school newsletter and Mr. Dryden has gone door to door visiting homes in the immediate school area to inform people of this activity.

I.E.C. Report:  Rhiannon Liberty reported that the last meeting was held on October 26, 2009.  The MIEA Conference is scheduled for April 8-11 in Billings.  Dana Hewankorn informed the Committee of the reorganization of the Tribal Education Office, which may include changing some requirements of school districts.  The parent needs survey has been completed.  IPP’s have been reviewed and given to School Board members to review for the December meeting.  The Halloween Party was held on October 30 featuring a Native American game theme.  The committee encourages everyone to attend meeting and offer their suggestions and/or assistance for upcoming events.

Student Accounts:  Revenue, expenditure and total reports for the month of October were provided to the board for review.  (See attached)

IPP’s:  Mr. Faroni explained that the review of the Indian Policies and Procedures on an annual basis is routine.  No procedure changes were made but grammatical errors were corrected.  This document must be approved by the board in order for our district to apply for Title VII and Impact Aid.  This will be place on the December agenda as an action item.

Dates to Remember:  Mr. Faroni gave a quick rundown of upcoming events.  (see attached)

Claims:  Cheryl motioned to approve the claims as presented with a second from Kathy.  Motion carried.

Ratification of Settlement Agreement:  Rhiannon motioned to ratify the settlement agreement.  Kathy seconded the motion.  Motion carried.

Ratification of Renter’s Packet:  Kathy motioned to ratify the committee rental packet with noted changes.  Cheryl seconded the motion.  Motion carried.

Policies:  1^st Reading Policies:  3530, 3540  Cheryl motioned to accept this as the 1^st reading of above policies with noted changes.  Rhiannon seconded the motion.  Motion carried.2^nd Reading Policies:  3440, 3510, 3520  Rhiannon motioned to accept this as the 2^nd reading of the above policies with noted changes with a second from Kathy.  Motion carried. 

3^rd Reading Policies:  3310, 3413, 3416, 3417, 3431  Rhiannon motioned to accept this as the 3^rd reading of the above policies with a second from Cheryl.  Motion carried.                              

The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m.. 

 (Updated December 2009)