New school board members sit in on their first meeting

Jessy Maddy, Ginger Riffel, and Michael Carpenter sat in on their first Stockton USD 271 regular school board meeting on Thursday, January 11th, after being elected to the position during the November General Election. Thelma Berland was also voted in to fill the fourth open position going into her second term.

At the start of the meeting, Tracy Ford invited the school board members to be part of the school’s High Five Friday, where they greet the students before the start of school. This invitation was extended to the members because January is Board Appreciation Month.

President Jesse Stithem informed the other board members that they would wait until the February meeting to approve the Stockton Recreation Board officers.

Next, the new members were assigned to other committees as part of their position on the school board. This was followed by an update on the Food Service Program, which has Stockton combined with Plainville under OPAA Food Management, an entity that oversees the management of child nutrition in schools. The District is in the process of filling out the paperwork.

Superintendent Sarah Armstrong informed the Board that the family and community surveys would be ready to send out soon.

She also reviewed the communication lines for students, parents, teachers, etc., which will be finalized soon and put into the handbook.

Armstrong then reviewed the KSDE Accountability Report, which shows the students’ five-year average, graduation rates, and attendance. Stockton is above the effective average.

Armstrong also introduced the Working Genius program, which she and board member BJ Hoeting had attended during a breakout session at the KAC Conference. This program is given to the teachers and staff, which highlights their strong suits and helps when forming work committees.

The members were asked to review the program to see if they want to implement it.

A second reading of the policy updates was given, and after a short discussion, it was decided to approve the policy except for the food service management.

The Principal Reports will begin again at the February meeting, so Armstrong gave the Superintendent’s Report. There are 297 students enrolled at this time. Armstrong is working on sending out letters or emails about payments for student lunches. The information will include any late fees and information about free and reduced lunches that the District provides. It was also asked if this information could be given out at parent/teacher conferences in case the parents have any questions.

During Board Member Reports, Thelma Berland asked about any daycare updates. It was noted that the City of Stockton had scheduled a meeting later in January to review and discuss pursuing a plan.

Next, the board members and Armstrong held several executive sessions to discuss non-elected personnel. There was no further discussion when they returned to the open meeting.

Before adjourning at 6:10 p.m., the members approved Laura Moffet as the junior high head track coach and Justin Basart for the powerlifting position.

Board members in attendance were Jessy Maddy, Ginger Riffel, Michael Carpenter, Chad Sterling, Jesse Stithem, Thelma Berland, BJ Hoeting (via phone), superintendent Sarah Armstrong, grade school principal Stacey Green, and high school principal Lindsay Cravens.