Akron School Board met Tuesday evening, June 16 for their regular meeting. The work session started at 6 p.m.
Dave Wise, architect for the addition, gave his report first. The walls are up and they are working on the inside. Wise was in Akron last week to see how work was progressing and check out the addition after the storm. There was no significant damage. He also dealt with some minor changes and issues with the addition, and is working with Superintendent Brian Christensen and TCC on small changes to the project.
Technology Director Greg Clarkson said 200 Chromebooks have been ordered and should be here soon. When the students turned in their Chromebooks after school was over, there were only three that couldn’t be used again. He is working with Toby Gertge of Gertge Technology to install cameras for security. Clarkson put an antivirus on the desktop computers and has been busy sanitizing equipment. He will now be busy getting all the new Chromebooks ready for the students to use when school starts in August.
Elementary school principal Kendra Anderson said, “I want to again say I am so proud of all the staff, parents and students for all their hard work during this time.”
Materials were returned and planning for the new year has started. Anderson said they are carefully evaluating their work with Pre-K through first grade, as this is a group that would be difficult, if not impossible, to teach through a computer screen if needed for a significant length of time. The school is going to hold another back-to-school night and will have a planned transition time for the students. A committee is working on a three-year writing program and she thinks it will be very beneficial for the students.
Counselor Britney Weers is working on mental health supports and has ideas for teachers to see when school starts. The Accountability committee met last week and planned their meetings for next school year and will be recruiting some new members. 
In closing, Anderson said, “I want to thank the board, administration, staff and the community for all their support and help during this time.”
The board then went on a tour of the new addition. Shawn Randel, principal of 6th – 12th grades, also thanked the board, staff and community for their support. He said he was very pleased with how graduation worked out given the circumstances. He believes some of the special things that were planned this year will stick for future years. His favorite part of graduation for the students was the parade. The schedule for the new year has still not been fully decided and some adjustments may have to be made.
Staff from NJC will be coming to talk to the administration about what they might have to offer through their new location in Yuma. There may be some classes, such as welding, they can offer to students. They are also working on credit recovery with students so that students can be caught up with their classes when school starts.
All photos by Brian Christensen
Continuing, Randel said they may have to re-evaluate the credit requirements for the seventh and eighth students. They are also looking at attendance provisions for next year, as they know some parents might not feel comfortable about sending their kids to school. There will be lots of things to consider for the new school year. There will also be new state graduation requirements for students that will be put into place this coming year. Students will only have to fulfill one of the requirements on the menu.
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Talking about the athletic director job, Randel has been working closely with Tyler Pickens, who will be the new AD. The school has protocols in place that match the guidance of the health department and state. Students are now coming into workout and practice sports. They have also worked with the town to help get recreational sports and facility use ironed out with the requirements. They have scheduled times for the coaches to use the facilities and are all on a different schedule. The school is working with the Akron Clinic to schedule physicals for those students who play sports. When arrangements are made for these, they will be announced.
Bill Dorrenbacher then gave the scripture reading and the prayer, followed by the “Pledge of Allegiance”.
Christensen gave department reports and reviewed his superintendent report. The maintenance department has aerated, top dressed and fertilized the fields. During the macroburst, one of the score boards was damaged, the roof was taken off the bathroom down by the field and the school track and building had some damage from the wind as well. Maintenance Director Jason Collins and Randel have met with the insurance adjuster. Weers is working on schedules and on mental health issues and how the teachers can help their students as they start the new school year. Training for bus drivers has been arranged and is taking place on-line.
Christensen felt that graduation was done well considering the many regulations and guidances the school was given for the event. The past two months have been extremely busy. He has been a part of numerous virtual meetings dealing with insurance, budget updates, COVID related topics, BOCES, CDE, CASB and Rural Alliance. He referred to his past written reports that included the roller coaster ride of school finance with the cuts coming from legislature, dealing with the recent storm, work on the addition and plans for next year which he mentioned would be discussed during the regular meeting.
The regular meeting then began. There was no BOCES report and with CASB, board member Nathan Quick mentioned a few legislative bills that CASB has mentioned.
Christensen said the school finance act has passed. He also discussed some of the plans for the 2020-21 school year and the encouraging information he has received about school resuming in person and the current downward trend of COVID cases and hospitalizations in our state. He said he feels students need to be in school.
Business Manager Kelli McCaffrey discussed the budget. There were a few changes, while the cuts to budget were still extensive, they don’t look quite as bleak as we planned at the last reading. They will be able to maintain the preschool program agreements with Akron Head Start and ABC, which is good. There will be no money to be added from the kindergarten and rural school programs. Salaries have still been frozen, but the board did approve of the hiring of the fifth/sixth grade teaching position that had been frozen due to the uncertainty of the budget. The per pupil count is under $10,000, which is lower than it has been for the past several years. Their multi-coverage insurance decreased almost two percent.
The board approved a resolution to reduce beginning fund balance; adopted the 2020-21 budget; approved the budget allocation resolution; ARAC for Title IV funds; state evaluation assurances for 2020-21; approved CASB dues for the 2020-21 school year; and approved the second reading of policy IHBIB-R. The ARAC form for the consolidated grant helps fund some of our paras and the counselor that is shared with neighboring BOCES schools.
Agenda items for the next meeting include approving the classified staff, bus drivers, coaches and extra duty assignments and the fee schedule. The next meeting of the Akron School Board will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 14 in the school library.