Knudsen retires from Malta School Board

A special meeting was called to order of the Malta School Board on Wednesday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m.

Board Chair Mark Knudsen called the special meeting to order and asked if there was any public input. With none, he moved on to the action items for the meeting.

The first was to canvas the election. Business Manager Jane Knudsen read the results of the election. A motion to accept the results was made, seconded, and passed unanimously by vote.

The next action item was the swearing-in of Trustees/Board Reorganization.

Carter Clausen, re-appointed, and new trustee, Scott Meneely were sworn in.

At this time, Mark Knudsen stepped down from his position on the school board and turned the meeting over to Superintendent Matt Genger.

Mark Knudsen has spent the last 15 years as a member of the Malta School Board. The remaining board members awarded him with a bronze mustang. Carter Clausen thanked Knudsen by saying, "We would like to thank you for your many years of service and your immense knowledge of how the school system works. It has been my honor and privilege to serve 9 of those 15 years on the board with you."

Sensing a lull and a little sadness in the room, Greg Skiff added, "Now get out!" Which broke the room into laughter.

Knudsen shook hands and thanked each member of the board personally. He said, "It has been an honor to serve the school for as long as I have. It's time for me to step down and let the others carry on."

Superintendent Genger then asked for nominations to fill the boards' chair seat. Carter Clausen was nominated. It was seconded and passed by a unanimous vote.

Clausen then asked for nominations for the vice-chair position. Kevin Koss and Greg Skiff were both nominated. The nominations were seconded and Skiff was voted in as the Vice-Chair.

Clausen then asked for nominations for the Business Clerk and Manager. Jane Knudsen was nominated. It was seconded and passed by unanimous vote.

Clausen then adjourned the special meeting and got ready for the regular monthly meeting of the school board to follow.

At 7:00 p.m., Clausen called to order the regular meeting of the Malta School Board.

The board approved the agenda for the nights' meeting, approved the minutes for the last meetings which included two special meetings, the last regular meeting, and approve the payment of the bills; all of which were motioned, seconded, and passed by unanimous vote.

The next item on the agenda was the information items.

First up was the Student Council Report by student council VP Danie Rhodes.

She reported that they had just finished up their blood drive. 33 units were donated and 25 of those were first-time doners.

The students had held a fundraiser for Linda Brown. Students were allowed to wear hats and caps if they donated whatever they could. The teachers and staff of both the high school and elementary were allowed to wear jeans. Rhodes reports that they are thinking they collected around $500 and that Mrs. Pankratz would be taking the money in to deposit it and make sure it got to the Brown family.

Rhodes also reported that the class elections would be held on Friday, May 14.

She stated that the lunch duty that the student council has been helping with, has been going great. The lunch ladies say it has been a great help.

Rhodes was asked how the senior trip went. She said, "It was a lot of fun. We went to The Hub in Missoula. It was exhausting though. We were all up for school that entire day. So a lot of us were up from 6:30 that morning until 7:30 a.m. the next day. It was rough, but we had a lot of fun.

She went on to say, "There's go-carts, laser tag, and a bunch of arcade games. Luckily, there were no injuries. We stayed there till 6:00 a.m. and then we ate breakfast at Denny's and got back on the bus at 7:30 a.m. We all slept the entire way home."

Next was the report from Elementary School Principle Corey Clark.

He reported that enrollment looks to be going up next year. There is a possible kindergarten class of 50+ students.

He said they held a bike and crosswalk safety training class. This is to be held in the fall of next school year.

They are looking to try and hold a track and field event day for the classes.

He reported that a few field trips are coming up for the elementary classes.

He reported that testing wrapped up last week. Complete results won't be known till July, but the early results look very positive compared to last year with the pandemic.

Up next was High School Principal Shawn Bleth.

He gave the council a report on upcoming events, stating it was going to be a busy last 12 days.

He commented on the blood drive saying that the blood drive crew was very complimentary to the student body.

He reported on the Honor Society awards night.

Bleth said that high school scheduling was underway, and that AP testing was as well.

Bleth reported that the final distance learners for high school had come back and that there were just four left in the middle school.

He reported that they had been holding parent meetings for both next years' 6th graders and next years' 9th graders.

The transportation report was given next by Patrick Sargent.

He stated that things were going pretty well.

He said they are waiting on a few parts for the busses and that they will be fixed as soon as they show up.

The transportation committee went on to report that the district is in need of bus drivers for both activities and routes. There have been a couple of activities that were close to being canceled due to the lack of drivers. If anyone is interested in driving a bus for the schools, they are to contact Patrick Sargent at the high school.

The school board then moved on to the action items on the agenda.

The board approved the 2020-21 contracts that were outstanding.

They approved the 2021-22 contracts outstanding in the following categories: Classified Staff contracts, Coaching contracts, Non-Union Head contracts, Half Time Middle School Principal, and Occupational Therapist.

The board approved the Route Bus contracts.

The board then had to appoint a District Transportation Representative. Mr. Genger was nominated. His nomination was seconded and the vote was unanimous for his appointment.

The board then spent a lot of time discussing the next item of District Funded Endorsement. It was ultimately denied at this time due to the lack of knowledge as to what the upcoming budget would be.

The last action item on the agenda was to approve the 2021-22 Pre-School Special Education calendar.

The final item on the agenda was the Superintendent's report.

Mr. Genger reported that the boiler exhaust stack had been completed.

He said that the elementary gym roofing that was put on hold due to bad weather is back on track for this summer.

Locker room renovations are upcoming.

Genger then talked about the budget for the next year and how it would need to be spent. Both on teachers and buildings. He said that the staffing for the upcoming year will be covered in-house as much as possible.

He also reported that there will be upcoming custodial training.

The next regular monthly meeting will be on Wednesday, June 9, at 7:00 p.m. in the Malta Middle/High School Workroom.