B-H School Board Okays HVAC Project

In staffing matters, work agreements were approved for Lindsey Nickeson as a para and Brad Brandt as Bus Driver. They accepted a letter of resignation from Jo Bush as Librarian/EMentor. Open enrollments were approved for a kindergarten from Langford and two kindergarteners from Sisseton.

The board accepted a proposal from G&R Controls for the classroom HVAC project to be split into four phases with a total cost of $1,583,177 and an estimated completion date in August of 2023. This will partially be paid for by COVID dollars with the other part having been budgeted for.

In the principals’ reports, they discussed English Language Learner needs. They noted preschool screening will be held on September 20. There are 18 students enrolled in dual-credit classes, seven E-learning students taking Spanish I & II and another six signed up for Business Law in the Spring. They also discussed disciplinary issues including drug use & theft. All issues were handled by the administration in accordance with policy.

In Superintendent Steve Benson’s report, he discussed some concerns about Social Studies curriculum standards updates. He noted that, statewide, there are some questions being raised about the standards and the age appropriateness of them in some cases. Benson added that he has invited staff to share their concerns about the standards.

Benson talked about a change to snow day procedure. The district has decided to remove the three make-up days from the calendar and keep them as vacation days, and to forgive the first five snow days with the following five snow days to be virtual. Any days beyond that will be discussed at that time.

At the end of the meeting, the group went into executive session for about 40 minutes.

The next board meeting is Tuesday, Oct 11 at 6:00 p.m.