Jessica Geis

The board convened a special meeting to conduct a non-renewal hearing for an elementary school principal. The proceedings, which were held largely in executive session, involved the review of documentary evidence regarding the principal's performance as established in a prior notice. Following the session, the board voted unanimously to formalize the non-renewal of the principal's contract for the upcoming school year and directed the business manager to issue formal written notification to the affected individual.

The meeting included the recognition of students and staff, highlighting achievements in basketball, track, and FFA, as well as the naming of the 2026 senior class valedictorian and co-salutatorians. The Board reviewed monitoring reports for Math, K-12 goal progress measures, and district Cognia information. Key actions taken included the approval of the superintendent's evaluation, rescheduling the upcoming April board meeting, and initiating the process for a performance-based non-renewal hearing for an elementary principal. Additionally, the Board reviewed and approved an employee's unpaid leave request during both open and executive sessions.

The board discussed a variety of operational and administrative items including personnel staffing updates, resignations, and new hires. Policy updates were reviewed across several categories, and administrative reports were provided by leadership. The agenda included student recognition, a review of progress on math goals, and state assessment data. Old and new business items covered school cyber insurance, a baseball and softball co-op proposal, system maintenance discussions, enrollment reviews, bus reports, and instruction time waivers. The board also held an executive session to address unpaid leave requests, administrative negotiations, and legal consultations.

The board meeting agenda covered several administrative and personnel items, including resignations and teacher contracts for the 2026-2027 school year. Technical equipment updates included a change in the elementary laptop order to Lenovo and the recycling of outdated technology. The agenda also included recognition of students and staff, an FBLA funding request, and a review of the ND Be Legendary progress measure goals and a student engagement survey. New business topics featured discussions on classified pay, high school administrative assistant leave benefits, and a policy regarding unpaid leave, with an executive session scheduled to address the latter.

The meeting commenced with a review and approval of the agenda as presented, following public comments on the speaker policy. The consent agenda, covering bills, payroll, finance reports, and committee/administrative reports, was unanimously approved. Recognitions were given to the basketball, wrestling, and speech teams approaching their tournaments. The board unanimously approved a $500 contribution to the Post Prom committee. Following a review and discussion, the board approved the ND Be Legendary monitoring report for ELA and the school board self-evaluation. New business included a discussion and approval of the Cognia accreditation report, approval for the High School principal to serve as President Elect for the ND Association of Secondary School Principals per policy, and unanimous approval to purchase student musician chairs and a drum set using funds from the Miller bequest. The board also unanimously approved school calendar option A for the 2026-2027 school year. The meeting included an executive session to discuss unpaid leave requests, which were subsequently approved upon returning to the regular session.