New Tardy Policy Discussed At School Board Meeting

The Kimball School Board reviewed the 2021-22 handbooks for Mary Lynch, the Jr/High School and the staff at their regular meeting on July 12.

In reviewing the handbooks, a few errors existed, and the approval process has been postponed to the August meeting.

Principal Danielle Reader explained to the board the new tardy and absenteeism policy will be combined with what is going to be called a “Stampede” card. The new Stampede card will provide incentives for student attendance and punctuality.

A list of surplus property has been compiled to be sold or disposed of; the property will appear on the Kimball Public Schools website in an effort to sell the property.

Superintendent Trevor Anderson’s report updated the board on the district’s financial position. While the fiscal year is 83% completed, 55.12% of the budget has been spent, leaving 44.88% of the budget unspent. A quick comparison shows that in 2019, 61.88% of the budget had been expended.

The current cash balance in the General Fund is $2,729,446.64. In 2020, the cash balance was $1,618,695.07, and in 2019 the cash balance was almost 1 million dollars less than the current cash balance.

Action items included approval of certified staff evaluations and support of amending the board policy on attendance.

The board’s discussion items included survey results of ESSER III funds and the Health Standards Resolution. A variety of thoughts were expressed in relation to the Health Standards Resolution. The local district is under no obligation to follow the State Health Standards. No action was taken on either item.

The board will be meeting in August for a Budget Workshop, and the next regular meeting for the Kimball School Board will be August 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the Kimball County Transit Building.