Arapahoe Board chooses Superintendent candidates
ARAPAHOE -The Arapahoe-Holbrook Board of Education met Monday, December 14, 2020. Chairman Rodney Whipple presided over the meeting. All other board members and administration representatives were present. Dennis Roskop was counted absent and excused during roll call but joined the meeting a few minutes later. Recently elected board member Erick Lee and two faculty NEA members, Leandra Monie (PK teacher) and Amy Huxoll (7-12 SPED teacher) were also in attendance.
The agenda was approved without additions. Principal Rudy Perez reported that an after school/before school homework room is being instituted for Junior and Senior High School students who are failing their courses. Attendance will be required for students who have not completed their assignments. Superintendent Dr. George Griffith reported that he is in the process of finishing the annual report and expects to have it completed for the January board meeting. He also shared that the state assessment scores for 2019-20 will remain the same as the 2018-19 school year since there was not any standardized testing this past spring. He also announced that the school will advertise for a para educator since a student was recently enrolled and will need one-to-one assistance.
Under Discussion Items on the agenda, the superintendent shared that the Families First Coronavirus Response Act is set to expire On December 31, 2020. If Congress does not act before then, school districts will need to decide whether to offer any additional “COVID” leave during the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year. Also discussed were new NSAA Winter Season Guidelines updated earlier in the day that will be in effect until January 4, 2021 which restrict attendance to participant households and may include grandparents. Whereas each school has the authority to determine if it will participate in the 2020-21 Winter Season, the host school is tasked with providing “oversight and compliance with established COVID-19 guidelines in accordance with their local health departments and facilities.”
The board met in executive session to discuss contract negotiations for the 2021-22 school year.
A Negotiations Committee Meeting will be held at a date to be determined. The Finance Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday, January 11, 2021 at 6:3o p.m. followed by the Regular Board Meeting at 7:oo p.m. in the Arapahoe Distance Learning Room.
A special meeting was held immediately following the board meeting to discuss the interview process for hiring a superintendent for the 2021-22 school year. The board also met in executive session to discuss salary and contract stipulations. The three candidates scheduled to be interviewed on Saturday, December 19, are Jacqueline Anderson (currently employed at Ogallala Public Schools), Drew Billeter (currently employed at Loomis Public Schools), and Michael Brown (currently employed at Boyd County Public Schools).
