by Garrick A Moritz, Editor
The Garretson School Board met in regular session on Jan. 11, 2021. The meeting was brief, but Superintendent Guy Johnson had a lot of updates for the Board.
“First I’m pleased to say that the roof project is now completely finished,” he said. “There was only one piece left to do, a single ladder to be installed. It was late and so with your approval we will assess a $2,900 liquidation for damages fee on to the $80 thousand-dollar bill for the project, as it was supposed to be completed before the start of this school year. The custodial staff is very happy with the result as we now have complete and safe roof access without having to bring a portable ladder.”
The board approved paying for the project including that change order.
The board moved on to policy revision items. The school’s alcohol and drug policies hadn’t been revisited since 2006, so it was time that they were looked at again. Board President Shannon Nordstrom asked what kind of complications could arise with the passage of marijuana legalization in South Dakota that is pending this year. He said that it was his understanding that the school could still keep its same polices of drug testing and zero use policy of marijuana for teachers or staff members. Supt. Johnson confirmed that is indeed the case, as federal laws have not changed.
Supt. Johnson then updated the board on the review of the school credit card policy. School policy was in line with associated school board policy, and he also noted that card limits were set at $5 thousand. Right now, both school credit cards are set to a max of $2,500, so they could be increased. It’s something to consider since many vendors no longer do traditional billing, and want payments over the phone at the time of sale.
The board then had a second reading of the update to payment procedures and school property disposal. These passed a second reading without objection or debate.
First, Supt. Johnson reviewed a letter he had received from the Mayor of Garretson Greg Beaner with the board. He recalled the public outcry this summer that occurred when the Garretson Baseball team was not allowed to play on their home turf because the Garretson School is the entity that actually owns the baseball diamond. This meant because of the Statewide shutdown of all school property to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that no sports could be played on the field, period. This started talks about the City purchasing that ball field from the school.
Supt. Johnson said that there is no formal agreement between the school and the Baseball Association, nor has there ever been aside from verbal agreements with handshakes. While this has worked just fine in the past, it might not be the case in the future.
Supt. Johnson listed pros and cons to the board for selling the property to the city.
Continued on Part 2 - Mailed subscriber or higher level account required to view
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