On Aug. 27, the Monroe School Board:
• Approved the retirement of Nancy Herbst of Northside Elementary School food service.
• Heard the annual report from District School Nurse Samantha Kubly, who noted the district has over 99 percent vaccination compliance and said though the district has a high rate of medication disbursal, the team of herself and five health assistants have a good record of avoiding errors. The school treats medications at each building like controlled substances, Kubly said, locking them behind two locks in each building. Abraham Lincoln Elementary School had the highest rate of student encounters within the 2017-18 school year with 4,567 and Monroe High School had the fewest with 1,830.
• Approved hiring Amy Steiner as a member of the Monroe High School food service.
• Discussed the 2018-19 Board of Education calendar and reviewed a month-by-month plan for highlighted topics planned throughout the school year.
• Approved hiring Summer Gurdak as a library specialist.
• Agreed to consider scheduling two board retreats, likely in October and March.
• Approved hiring Jonathan Curl as weekend security at the high school and Abraham Lincoln Elementary School.
• Reviewed a newly created brochure explaining the two upcoming referendum questions.
• Approved hiring David Hiatt as a high school custodian and James Buol as a Monroe Middle School custodian.
• Heard a report from the Finance Committee that the district audit came in 2.5 percent below budget.
On Aug. 13, the board:
• Approved hiring Krystal Hanson as an Abraham Lincoln Elementary food service worker and Marla Wilson as a Parkside Elementary School food service worker.
• Hired Elizabeth Babel as District Administrative Center receptionist.
• Approved the installation of playground equipment at Parkside purchased by the district parent-teacher organization and moving some pieces, like a swing set, to allow for better supervision of play activities.
• Authorized the retirement of Beverly Baker, Parkside educational assistant, and Gail Murray, Monroe Middle School sixth grade English teacher.
• Agreed to the final draft of the high school activities handbook.
• Approved hiring Heidi Adrian as the Abe Lincoln accounting secretary.
• Hired Melissa Elsen as a first-grade teacher at Parkside.
• Accepted a donation of school supplies from BreAnna and Johnny May and Kaylinn Seffrood.
• Heard a pupil services report from Joe Monroe, director of pupil services, who said there was “a lot to be proud of within the district” and noted that bullying numbers have “dropped significantly.” Upon questioning, he said the district is “not foolish enough” to believe students haven’t adjusted to be less obvious in their bullying tactics, but said “we feel like we’re moving our needle in the right direction.” In the report, Monroe also pointed to the 14 percent of students in special education, which is higher than the state average of 8 percent and that the district would evaluate whether system in place is functioning accurately, and will otherwise adjust accordingly.
• Heard a report from Terri Montgomery, director of curriculum and instruction, who said summer school went well and that training in the new Frog Street Curriculum was going smoothly.
• Accepted a bid from Stateline Paving & Excavating LLC of Monroe for roughly $80,000 to repave the middle school playground, beginning by excavating 12 inches after the removal of the asphalt, then placing geo-mesh and rolling gravel before laying nearly 4 inches of asphalt, to be done by the beginning of the school year with the $100,000 remaining from the 2016 referendum. Member Dan Bartholf abstained from voting on the item while Cheryl McGuire, Rich Deprez and Amy Bazley were absent from the meeting.