USD 235 board meets Monday

Sunday, July 1, 2007

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- The current seven-member USD 234 Board of Education will meet and adjourn for the final time on Monday, school officials said.

A written statement from the district said that the current board plans to adjourn Sine Die (a Latin term that refers to the process that occurs when a board or other organized body conducts business together for the last time). The term also means that the board, as it is now, will cease to exist permanently and will not meet again.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 5: 30 p. m. Monday at the USD 234 Board of Education office, 424 S. Main St.

The board will re-organize on Monday with the addition of local attorney Justin Meeks, who was elected in April to school board position No. 1. Meeks, who received 90 write-in votes to win the spot, will replace current board member Steve Sewell, who did not file for re-election this year, school officials said.

The board members, if they choose, could also elect a new board president and vice-president, USD 234 Business Manager Alan Drake said. The current board president is 12year board member Matt Ida, and the vice-president is Phil Quick.

The board also plans to consider the approval of the consent agenda, which includes a number of items that board members typically review each year. Items the board will consider on Monday include the $1.5 million district payroll for June; the dates and times for regular board meetings during the 2007-' 08 school year; the designation of banks for the deposit of school funds; and the designation of The Fort Scott Tribune as the newspaper for official school publications.

The board will also consider the approval of school officers for the 2007-' 08 school year; the approval of a Fort Scott Recreation Commission board member; the approval of district gifts; the approval of a Waiver of Generally Accepted Accounting Prin-ciples; and student and faculty handbooks for the 2007-' 08 school year.

In other business Monday,

the board will conduct the following business: * Appoint a hearing officer for suspensions and expulsions.

* Consider district employment matters.

* Consider the $71,869 payment to Saterlee Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning for a project to upgrade heating and cooling units at Winfield Scott Elementary School. District officials are still waiting for approval of the project, which includes the complete upgrade of heating and cooling units and duct work on the addition to the school building that was built in 1974, officials said. The board tabled the payment request during a special meeting about two weeks ago.

* Consider a health insurance committee recommendation.

* Consider the design of the calendar year for the district's Section 125 Plan, which outlines various benefits district employees have available to them.

Qualifying employees who are not covered under the district's health insurance plan may choose from various term life insurance and cancer insurance policies, and other medical reimbursements, Drake said. The benefits available in the plan are tax-free, he said.

The board also plans to set the date for an upcoming special board meeting to review the district's budget for the 2007- 08 school year.

The board also has an executive session planned for their Monday meeting to discuss such things as personnel matters for non-elected personnel, and to discuss matters relating to employeremployee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the representative or representatives of the body or agency, a district statement said.