Cambridge Board of Education discuss replacing the Charter bus with a yellow Thomas or Bluebird with storage, wireless internet hotspot
Cambridge Board of Education met on Monday, December 14, 2020 for their regularly scheduled meeting. All Board members were preset for the meeting. The Board began with the Treasurer’s report where Superintendent Greg Shepard said that all the funds are in good shape, and even a little ahead of where they were last year. The Board then approved the General Fund, the Building Fund, and the QCPUF Fund claims.
In the Superintendent Report, Shepard approached the Board about the possibility of getting a new bus. Currently, the Charter bus is down due to a cracked fuel tank. Because of its age, the repair shop has been unable to find a replacement tank, so they will have to fabricate a new tank to repair the bus. Shepard will be getting the quote for the repairs shortly, and hopes to have the Charter up and running soon. However, because Charter is having more and more issues, and because it could take up to 5 months to replace, he believes it is time for the Board to start looking at options for a new bus to replace the Charter. Shepard had done some preliminary research and suggested to the Board to consider buying a yellow Thomas or Bluebird bus with storage and a wireless internet hotspot instead of another Charter bus. He reasoned that a new yellow bus with storage underneath and a wireless hotspot would cost between $132,000 and $147,000 and would be able to be used for activities but could also be used as a backup route bus. For the same money, the district could purchase a used Charter bus that could only be used for activities.
Shepard also stated that parts for the Bluebird bus are easier to get than those for the Thomas. He also said that some repairs to the busses could be done locally, but any bigger repairs would have to be taken to Kearney. Board President Jason Houghtelling commented he had stopped by the bus dealership in Kearny recently and looked at the busses.
Board members discussed the comfort of a yellow bus versus that of the Charter bus. Principal Jarod Albers commented that the reason the school purchased a Charter bus was because, at the time, many of our activities were taking the teams long distances, but today, many of the activities are closer in proximity and mean less time spent on busses. Discussion was held about seat layout and how many students, on average, travel on the busses at any given time. Board members suggested getting formal quotes for both bench seating options and bucket seating options. Discussion was also held about the shuttle bus and how it was holding up. Shepard reminded the Board that the route busses were mechanically doing well, but the bodies were showing some age and would need replacing in the future as well. The Board approved getting formal quotes on both the Bluebird and Thomas busses and will discuss the quotes at a future meeting.
Shepard also reported the annual audit had gone well. The only issue brought up by the firm was that we only have one bookkeeper overseeing the budget. This is a problem many small schools face. Shepard gave the Board a copy of the audit and made one available to the public to view in the main office. The Board will approve the audit at the next meeting.
Shepard finished with thanking the staff and the board for their work to get through the first semester. He also thanked Vic Knutson for filling in when the Board had a vacancy. “[Vic] was just what we needed. He provided insight and proved to be an outstanding Board Member.”
Knutson thanked Shepard and the Board saying “This is a good board and a good administration. Everyone knows their roles and does them well.”
In the Principal’s report, Jarod Albers said he had completed 25 total evaluations including fall head coaching evaluations. He also updated the Board on the school psychologist services. In the past, ESU 11 has employed a school psychologist and member schools paid to share services within the ESU. This year, the ESU was unable to hire a school psychologist, so they have been using telehealth services with an out-of-state school psychologist. This results in the district saving about $18,000 a year, but there have been drawbacks. Albers said the situation is not ideal and wanted the board to know the ESU is looking to hire for the position, but said other districts have hired their own or shared services between two districts. Albers wanted to let the Board know about the situation in case changes would need to be made for next year.
For the Activities Director report, Albers shared that many of the RPAC schools were hesitant to host RPAC events because of COVID. He said that Cambridge had stepped up to the plate offering to host both athletic and activities for RPAC. An RPAC Executive meeting in the next few weeks will determine where these events will be held. If Cambridge is chosen to host these events, there may be some changes to the calendar.
Albers also informed the Board about his weekly updates to inform parents of restrictions and protocols for the week’s activities. He also said the Christmas programs for all levels of students would be recorded on Wednesday and would be made public on Friday. Albers finished his report with the upcoming activities including the Fran Jorgensen wrestling meet to be held at Cambridge on Saturday, December 19. Albers congratulated Genny Kubik on hosting the District Play Production Contest and Jason Sawyer and Margo Kent for hosting the elementary, middle and high school quiz bowls. He also thanked Shepard for extending the Christmas break.
In Action Items, the board approved Burke Construction to install doors in the storage shed at the football stadium and approved purchasing iPads for the lower elementary. The $17,000 price would include both the iPads and the cases.
The Board went into executive session at 8:02 to discuss negotiations, exited that executive session and entered into another executive session to discuss the Superintendent evaluation.
