The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The Chinook School Board held their monthly regular meeting on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. The following report includes information obtained from the DRAFT minutes of the meeting. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Billmayer at 7:04 pm in Room 101 of Chinook High School. He then asked everyone to rise and pledge allegiance to the flag. Chairman Billmayer welcomed visitors, Matt Molyneaux, Chrissy Downs, Brynn and Bridgette Brennan, Janelle Deanon, Laura Kellam, Dentin DePriest, Morgan Friede, Emily Scofield, Fay Friede, Anna Terry, and Quentin Edwards. Board Present included Frank Billmayer, Chad Beck, Kevin Elias, Teddy Crowley, and Scott DePriest. Board members absent included Russell Alisch and Shane Stroebe.

The meeting began with the Consent Agenda: Motion to approve October regular Board Meeting minutes, approval of Activity Warrants, Electronic Payroll, Paper Payroll Warrants, High School Electronic Claim Warrant and Paper Claim Warrants. Recommendation to approve the consent agenda items one through five was motioned by Trustee DePriest and seconded by Trustee Elias. The motion carried unanimously. The Board then considered Elementary Electronic Claim Warrants and Paper Claim Warrants. The motion to approve carried unanimously.

After approving the agenda unanimously, the Board then addressed Correspondence, Reports, and Petitions. Announcements for the Chair/Communications, Public Comment for Non-Agenda Items and the Students Council Report. Morgan Friede and Dentin DePriest represented Chinook at the state student council in Great Falls for District 5. They presented a workshop. Presented was a resolution for mental health and it passed. They were able to go to the Lewis and Clark interpretative center. They hope more students can come next time. There were about 500 people in attendance, and we raised about $7,000 for the make-a-wish foundation as a group. There were a lot of different people and an NBA player even showed up. The student council pays for the trip.

Presentations were made by Anna Terry And Quentin Edwards. The pair made a statement on the petition and efforts they are putting together to get dogs back into the school. Anna informed the Board she currently is working with the Student Council in an effort to establish a guideline to be followed. Quentin and Anna added that they want to create something that will steer away from problems and avoid issues. In their comments to the board they addressed potential issues with allergies and messes.

After concluding their main comments, Anna and Quentin asked the Board to add them to the next board agenda. Quentin concluded by stating that dogs allowed would need to be registered with the goal being to allow the dogs possibly to be able to help with mental health. After listening to the presentation Chairman Billmayer and Superintendent Fred Hofman each applauded them on addressing their plan to the Board and added that they did it in the right way. Mr. Billmayer stated that this is a healthy conversation to have and that he liked seeing the student body standing up together for something they are passionate about and said the Board would add this issue to the next agenda. Billmayer concluded by stating "Policies will have to be made".

Principal reports were made by Ms. Weber regarding Meadowlark Elementary and Hartland Colony. High School Principal Mr. Molyneaux presented the High School report Superintendent Hofman stated the Fall report is in for OPI. He reported the Library is going to give us a ding as the Elementary Physical Education teacher is not certified. Mr. Hofman commented the report is essentially a couple of dings and no dong, OPI will give a call and ask questions.

The Board then turned to the Standing Agenda Item beginning with Consideration and Review of Student's Academic Progress (RTI) and any Proposals Related. Susan Erskine and Danelle Gibson presented reports to the board stating that they are all seeing improvement. The report added that math at the elementary is seeing an improvement from one year to another and some great things were happening in the First grade. Chairman Billmayer commented the Board was hoping to see something like this, stating that education is huge and said the Board really appreciates the efforts of the administration and staff and all the hard work they are doing.

Next the Board addressed the Consideration and Review of School Safety Plan and Security Measures. The discussion addressed Non-Lethal Kits that will be given out. Chairman Billmayer asked if the kits are secured in place. Superintendent Hofman commented that the Maintenance Crew have secured places during the break in October. Chairman Billmayer gave a review of the last safety meeting. The Safety meeting included a debriefing on the situation that recently occurred at the school. A extended discussion was held about communication, Chairman Billmayer stated that less is more when releasing information to the public "We have to do a better job with that. Multiple people are being trained on how to get information out via Alert Sense. We need to have better situational awareness and communication with parents about bus releases, etc."

Chairman Billmayer then asked for public comment and Ms. Scofield provided a statement, "10 years ago, when I started up in this District, it was the perfect fit for me. Its mission was aligned with my teaching pedagogy. We saw students as individual learners. We celebrated the growth of each individual child. We did not label our children low, average, or high. Our students were not a test score. Student achievement was not based on the data of an online test, but the genuine interaction with what the teacher saw in a student. I feel our students achieved at a higher level because we taught at the level of each student's abilities. I no longer feel this alignment in this District and I'm not alone. I now feel that I'm being pushed to teach to the test, something that makes me cringe. It's now time for me to explore different educational venues so I can stay true to my personal teaching goals. I thank you all for allowing me to grow as a teacher for nearly a decade in your district." Trustee Crowley stated that his kids enjoyed Ms. Scofield as a teacher and Chairman Billmayer thanked Mrs. Scofield for what she has done for the District saying she was phenomenal with his son. The motion carried unanimously.

The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for December 12, 2022 at 6:45 pm (Executive Session) and 7:00 pm (High School Room 101)A motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Trustee Elias at 9:22 pm. Trustee Crowley seconded and the motion passed unanimously