Greenwood School Board Discusses Referendum and More

Thursday, November 2nd, 2023 -- 12:01 PM

The Greenwood School Board discussed a referendum timeline and an initial outlook at numbers.

District Administrator and Middle/High School Principal Joe Green discussed how there are two elections in April and November 2024 and only one in the spring of 2025. Baird model should be done November 10th and will have more information on dollar amounts.

They are going for an operational referendum. Operational referendum is where they ask for money to keep what they currently have going. The Board approved to accept to go with April 2024 for referendum as presented.

The Board also discussed the District Newsletter. Mr. Green is considering using the TRG for the quarterly newsletter. There is a set up charge of $240, that gets addresses in their system. Once that is set up there will only be a reactivation charge of $30 on future newsletters.

For each full page the cost will be $300, half pages are $175, and there is a minimum of 3 full pages. Undeliverable addresses are $0.80 each. These are usually vacant residencies or parcels if going off tax table parcels.

If you want color on the pages that is an additional $175 per page. He would like to try for a year with 3 newsletters and 1 annual letter. The Board approved his request. The Board tabled the Academic and Career Planning Portfolio Graduation Requirements until the November meeting.

The Board also approved an upgrade to their camera system. They also approved the 2023-24 Annual Budget including Fund 10 for $2,485,003 and Fund 80 for $25,000. The Board had the second reading of policy updates 32.2 regarding legal updates.

The Board also approved the 2023-24 Co-Curricular Contracts including Shawn Kolano as the Youth Girls Basketball Coach and Tyler Johnson as the Youth Boys Basketball Coach. After a closed session, the Board approved to reduce the breaking contract fee to $3,000.

The Board also approved several donations including a memory bench from Courtesy Auto in memory of Danny Bravener and Ribbie Hinker and 29 heads of cauliflower and 24 watermelons from the Ernst Family.

They also approved donations of $1,800 from the FFA Alumni to help pay for the National FFA Convention, $500 from Allied Cooperative to support chapter programs and National Convention costs, and $31.94 from Zoetis on behalf of the Loyal Veterinary Service to support chapter programs and National Convention costs.

In employment matters, the Board approved the resignation of Penny Wehrs from her Middle School Volleyball Coaching position and Shawn Kolan from his Middle School Girls Basketball Coaching position.

They approved the hiring of Kathryn Miller as District Administrative Assistant, Shawn Kolano as Youth Girls Basketball Coach, Tyler Johnson as Youth Boys Basketball Coach, Tragen Bogdonovich as Youth Boys Basketball Coach, Faith Kolano for Kids Club, and David Denk as Youth Girls Basketball Coach. They also approved Ryan Rinehart as a volunteer for High School Football. They approved Nanette Enli-Sowieja as a Substitute Teacher.

The Board also heard the Administrators’ Reports. Elementary Principal Shane Lilly reported on:

• Playground is in great shape with the new bark, teachers are feeling more comfortable taking the kids to the outdoor classroom, Mr. Lilly made some connections at his conference with companies that repair rubber playground floors;
• 16 staff members joined a weight loss challenge that Ms. Bryhn organized;
• The Elementary is looking at some SEL type activities for their staff;
• Looking for older students (Big Buddies) to give an extra hand to help younger students get dressed for recess this winter;
• New teachers have been making connections with all of the students by helping with kids’ club and volunteering for extra work;
• ACT 20 is a government push for reading and will be coming in the near future, that would affect student retention for 3rd grade, they have created a reading committee to stay in front of this legislation;
• Fastbridge is doing so well, it has helped our teachers find and fill the gaps;
• And elementary students go outside before school starts to burn off some energy in the morning.

Director of Instruction and CTE Coordinator Noah Werner reported on:

• Teachers have finalized SLOs/PPGs;
• Middle/High School staff have continued their weekly PLC meetings;
• Teacher classroom visits have begun;
• Started an after school academic and behavior enrichment that occurs on Mondays and Thursdays to help reduce students missing assignments and struggling in academic courses;
• The academic and career planning handbook and portrait have been completed, industry partners have reviewed and provided their input, some changes were made from the feedback that was provided.

District Administrator and Middle/High School Principal Joe Green reported on:

• Air handlers will be delivered soon, Ahern, Complete Control, and our crew will be meeting with them over Thanksgiving break, this should take 2 to 3 days, this is being paid out from ESSER funds;
• Report cards were released to the district but still embargoed, once fully released, we will take a closer look at them;
• The School District of Greenwood and Loyal will have a combined board retreat on November 8th from 7-9 PM at the Greenwood High School, they would like to talk about where both districts want to be in 3 to 5 years in regards to co-curriculars, academics, building and grounds, and services;
• The School District of Greenwood is looking into providing meals for a cost to 7 Cs daycare, 7 C’s cannot receive meals from ADS due to not having a certified kitchen, this may lead to discussion about a school-based daycare;
• They are seeing a decline in missing assignments due to the academic detention;
• Homecoming was last week and unfortunately, they had to cancel the parade due to weather, the football game was a wet mess, but overall the students still had fun;
• Fort test (Foundations of Reading), computer based test assesses proficiency in and understanding of reading and writing content knowledge, literacy development, and instruction, looking at making some changes.

The Board also heard some Committee Reports. For Employee Relations, Board Members Jessica Wolf and Jerome Krempasky discussed:

• Elementary teachers getting sub pay, scales for longevity, and if Administration values Masters Degree or higher education.

For Co-Curricular, Board Member Dean Lindner discussed:

• Elementary flag football and how much support was received for coaching from both Greenwood and Loyal High School students.

For the Joint Board Committee, Board Member Dean Lindner stated:

• Non-coop teams coaching staff would like to met to discuss their programs and then follow up with discussions with athletic directors.

Curriculum discussed:

• Sharing of courses discussed and offer and expand more opportunities for our students;
• No survey discussions (based on no recommendation from either board members) was on the agenda for this meeting.

For Co-Curricular, Mr. Green stated:

• Elementary is starting a Flag Football program for 1-6th grade with more than 65 students signed up between Greenwood and Loyal students, the high school football program will be sending 10 athletes each week towards the program.

For Building and Grounds Mr. Green stated:

• They’re making sure buildings are sound and winter ready and walking around to make sure that we make note of repairs;
• Security cameras will be set up at the outdoor classroom.

During a brief presentation, Mr. Green recognized Jerome Krempasky for accomplishing WASB level 4. Thanked him for all his time and effort he has put in all the years.

During the Communication From the Public portion of the meeting, Tony Horvath, a Greenwood resident, spoke of a need for a Resource Officer or dedicated security for the school. Stated the layout of the Elementary school proves unsafe in the event of an intruder.

Joanna Horn, another Greenwood resident, spoke of an incident that occurred at the Elementary last Friday. Teachers left classes unattended and parents were not told what happened. There is too much time spent on homework, teacher does not communicate with parents, and kids say they can’t learn because there is too much noise.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.