Board Approvals:

• minutes of August 10, 2022
• donation of $1,000 from the Emporia State Federal Credit Union to assist with the cost of staff breakfast at Convocation
• donation of $1,000 from Floyd’s Inc. to the Emporia High School wrestling and track & field program 
• updated Memorandum of Agreement for concurrent enrollment partnership between the Flint Hills Technical College and Emporia Public Schools for the 2022-2023 school year
• updated Memorandum of Agreement for concurrent enrollment between Butler Community College and Emporia Public Schools for the 2022-2023 school year
• sale of district surplus
• lease agreement for the Flint Hills Learning Center with the Flint Hills Mall LLC for the 2022-2023 year at $35,432.25 
• updated Memorandum of Understanding between Emporia State University Secondary Education Department and USD 253 for the 2022-2023 school year
• Memorandum of Understanding between the Emporia Country Club and USD 253 for practice purposes for the Emporia High school girls’ and boys’ golf teams for the 2022-2023 school year
• purchase 1200 Chromebooks for grades K-3 from Computer Technology Link Corp.
• adopt COVID recommendations that align with the Center for Disease Control and Kansas Department of Health and Environment guidelines

Board Discussions:

Construction Update:

Mr. Eric Woltje, McCownGordon Senior Project Manager, updated the Board of Education on each of the district's construction projects. Currently, Emporia High School and Logan Avenue Elementary are in the final stages of construction and are on track to be completed in October. Emporia Middle School and Village Elementary are just getting underway with mainly site maintenance and footings being poured at both locations. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held at each school with dates being announced soon. It is anticipated that Walnut Elementary will be completed by the end of this week. Crews are finishing the additional work that was required by the Fire Marshall to complete the project. The next projects include Timmerman Elementary and Riverside Elementary. HTK architects are designing proposals for additional classrooms and other needs of the buildings in the programming stage of development. Click here to view the construction presentation.

Health Insurance Renewal for 2022-2023:

Ms. Jamie McDonald, Brown and Brown Executive Vice-President, reviewed the presentation that was shared with the Health Insurance Committee on August 8, 2022. Overall the information is positive with quotes for insurance renewal rates being down from previous years. Based on the information and similar renewal rates provided to the Health Insurance Committee, the general consensus is to continue with Blue Cross Blue Shield as the district's health care provider. There was also a discussion by the Board on increasing the employer-paid insurance benefit. This is a part of the negotiations and will be discussed at the next IBB meeting. Open enrollment for the district is scheduled to begin in mid-October.

• Click here to review the health and dental insurance summary.
• Click here to review the employee responsibility summary.

Student Academic Achievement Report:

Mrs. Judy Stanley, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Learning and Student Services, Dr. Ryan Karjala, Director of Assessments and Accountability, and Mrs. Tara Glades, Director of Student Services, provided the Board of Education with updates on the Districts Spring 2022 Kansas State Assessment and FastBridge Assessments. The presentation provided a review of the modest increase in areas such as math and science assessments and showed a slight decrease in the English Language Arts. Although the increases were not significant the data is encouraging because it shows stability as students continue adjusting from learning loss and chronic absenteeism that occurred during the COVID Pandemic. Stanley also shared action plans that will be utilized during the 2022-2023 school year which includes in part the adoption of a new math curriculum resource that is being used district-wide.

• Click here to review the FastBridge and Kansas Assessments presentation.
• Click here to review the FastBridge and Kansas Assessments presentation handouts.

COVID Update:

Ms. Jennifer Arndt, Director of Nursing Services, and Dr. Harder, Superintendent, provided an update and recommendations from the COVID Advisory Committee. Arndt reported that local community trends regarding COVID positive cases are shifting downward, however, there is still a need for caution as we return to school. The district is currently following guidelines that were approved by the board in February of 2022. Recently the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) have aligned their COVID guidance. The COVID Advisory Committee recommended that the district align its practices with the CDC/KDHE recommendations. During the meeting, the Board voted and approved those recommendations which are listed below. Click here to view the COVID presentation update.

CDC/KDHE recommendations:

 ● If Covid positive 

• Individuals must isolate at home for a minimum of 5 days and be fever-free for 24 hours with symptom improvement before returning to work/school. A negative antigen test will not be required to come back to work/school. Individuals returning from isolation must wear a mask between days 6-10. Individuals may enroll in the Test to Know strategy as stated in the previous slide if they want to remove their mask before day 10. These tests must be arranged with the nursing staff.

 ● As part of the Test to Know strategy if you think you have been exposed, the school district has access to at-home tests and will be highly encouraging our staff members, students, and their families to utilize at-home tests to follow this testing strategy.

 ● Masking is recommended when community levels are high. This can be communicated to our staff, students, and families and allow those individuals to make their own decisions based on community levels.

 ● For district buildings that maintain an absenteeism rate of less than 5% related to COVID, masking will be optional for students, staff, parents, and visitors. This percentage is considered the threshold for masking or using optional masking.

• Percentage rates for COVID positives will be calculated weekly with buildings reporting the information to the Director of Nursing and the Human Resources Office. The updates will be made each Friday with recommendations for the following week to begin on Monday.
• If a building reaches or exceeds the 5% of absenteeism related to COVID, universal masking is to be implemented at that building for at least two weeks. The principal and the building school nurse will work together to communicate with staff members, students, and family members.
• The two-week period will continue to be implemented until the percentage of COVID positivity declines to less than 5%. Additional weeks may be needed until the building decreases to less than 5%.

● Vaccination, and boosting (if eligible) is highly recommended. 

● Testing and vaccination clinics will be offered throughout the school year. 

● District athletes and activities will continue to follow KSHSAA guidelines.

Future Board Calendar Dates:

• Thursday, Sept 8, 2022, Ground Breaking At Village, pending
• Wednesday, September 14, 2022, 6:30 p.m., Board Meeting, Mary Herbert Education Center
• Wednesday, September 28, 2022, 6:30 p.m., Board Meeting, Mary Herbert Education Center