Gearing up for another year

Families of students in the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Community School will see few changes in fees for the coming year.

The only increase noted is for instrument rental. That fee will increase $5 to help cover costs to maintain school-owned instruments.

"We're paying quite a bit for instrument repairs," Superintendent Patrick Carlin said.

The other change is a 10-cent reduction in adult lunch prices.

Bread and dairy products for the nutrition program will continue to be provided by the same vendors. Casey's was the lone bidder for bread products and Prairie Farms' prices for milk were lower than those quoted by Kemps.

• Handbook changes reviewed

The principals reviewed revisions in the handbooks for their buildings. Some changes are similar for all three, such as student use of cell phones and other electronic devices, appropriate dress and use of sports/energy drinks at school.

Specific changes in the high school handbook reflect the reduction in the number of days a student is ineligible to participate in extracurricular activities for academic reasons (from 30 to 20), and revisions in the process of addressing unexcused absences.

Updates to the middle school handbook clarify the process of dealing with issues such as harassment and bullying, and determining the length of student suspensions.

The only major adjustment to the elementary handbook is clarification of how inappropriate behavior on school buses will be addressed.

Few changes were noted in the staff handbooks. Language regarding mileage for staff who teach in both Hartley and Sanborn was adjusted in the certified handbook. The definition of immediate family in the non-certified handbook now mirrors that for certified staff.

• Positions are filled

Carlin reported that all certified positions should be filled next year, which he called "a huge win" for the district.

A contract was issued to Benita Barone-Schoemake to teach 5/6 grade science. H-M-S will contract with Northwest AEA next year for a certified school librarian.

Other contracts were issued to Ava Reitsma, full-time associate; Jeremiah Delzer, high school girls' track coach; Korey Ebel, high school girls' strength/conditioning coach; and Naethan Hoaglund, high school cross country coach. Contracts were also issued for all Teacher Leadership and Compensation positions.

Hoaglund resigned his middle school football coaching position.

• Officials' pay, break/fix insurance

The rate of pay for some athletic officials will increase next year. The board reviewed comparisons of pay rates for area schools, and recommended rates to be paid by H-M-S.

According to discussion, most pay rates will remain the same. Increases were noted for basketball, volleyball and softball officials.

"As much as I hate it, we really don't have a lot of choice," Carlin acknowledged.

He noted that activity revenues are limited, so the increases in pay will likely be passed on to patrons.

The premium for the "break/fix" policy will decrease by approximately $4,000 next year. The company also offered a three-year renewal option, with no increase in premium.

Weighing the benefits of a longer renewal against the risk that premiums could continue to decrease, the board voted to go with the three-year option.