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   Discussion regarding the possibility of allowing fifth grade boys play on the junior high basketball team was discussed during the regular board meeting held Wednesday, Nov. 20. Head boys basketball coach, Jeremy Schwarz and parent, Jeremiah Fenning were both in attendance to add to the discussion. 

   Currently the school’s policy states basketball for both girls and boys are open to any student in grades sixth through twelfth. The addition of adding boys from fifth grade was requested due to current low participation numbers, with Schwarz stating there are only approximately 15 boys participating between the sixth and twelfth grade. With these low numbers it is felt allowing fifth grade boys to join the junior high team would assist in being competitive and allow those players to have a longer season. Schwarz also mentioned he felt the elementary basketball program was not long enough and if they do not allow those boys to participate with the junior high team they should pursue finding other games later in the season for them to participate to extend their season and make them better players and more prepared for the following years.

   Title IX regulations was also discussed, which requires schools to offer equal participation opportunities for girls and boys. Therefore, if the school was to allow fifth grade boys to participate in junior high basketball they would need to allow fifth grade girls to participate with their perspective team. This would then require the same opportunities to be offered to students at the Hill City School due to the two schools co-oping for girls basketball. 

   Another point for consideration brought up by teacher Carol Procopio was in regards to the late nights when their are away games. It was stated with sixth graders already being allowed to participate on junior high teams a lot of those students are tired and not focused as much during the day after an away game. Procopio mentioned it may affect the fifth graders scholastically. Schwarz stated that was a good point and he would offer help to any player needing assistance to maintain grades.

   After input from all board members and administration, the board agreed to allow fifth graders to participate with stipulations. First would be to reach out to the girls basketball coach to see if they would be open to allowing fifth grade girls to participate if they wanted to. Second stipulation would be to check with Hill City and see if they were agreeable to allowing fifth graders to participate due to the co-op between the two schools for girls basketball, they would have to allow their fifth grade boys to participate if they desired. Thirdly was that this would be allowed for the 2024-2025 school year only due to the possibility of boys basketball being co-oped for the 2025-2026 and future years.

   During the meeting Board Chair Marc Ruyak accepted the following donations: $1,000 fro the Outing Chamber of Commerce for the senior class trip; $190 from Dale DeMars for the Trap Club; $110 from the Salem Lutheran Church Women to the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program for children’s clothing; $200 from the S.A. Yochum V.F.W. Post 772 and two clarinets, from an anonymous donor and two flutes, one from Dave Schimpp and the other from an anonymous donor.

   The board also heard reports from administration regarding behavior and highlights over the past month. Elementary Principal Janessa Green mentioned there were only 14 referrals during the month of October which is the best it has been in the last four years, last year during  October there were 92 Green stated. 

   Discussion regarding the need for custodial staff was also a topic, with Superintendent/High School Principal Mary Yakibchuk suggesting the possibility of contracting with a cleaning service. Yakibchuk stated even though one position was recently filled, there is still one position opened and has been vacant since early June. It was also stated the cost would be approximately $35-$50 per hour with the school needing to enter into a contract for a specific period of time. The total cost of the contract would be approximately $11,000. With the school needing to reduce expenses in order to balance the budget, Ruyak stated he would email the board with current rates for custodial staff and they could look at the possibility of increasing the pay to entice new hires and to retain current staff.

   In other Board action:

   • Heard from Aaron Dahl from BergenKDV with the results from the fiscal year 2024 audit, with Dahl stating there were no findings.

   • Approved reducing the budget by $250,000 in order to balance the budget.

   • Approved creating a Restructuring and Reduction Committee for the purpose of balancing the budget and appointed board members Aaron Ammerman and Tyler Seifert to the serve on the committee.

   • Approved hiring Irving Vilina as 12-month custodian, effective Nov. 4, 2024 and Sara Post as paraprofessional, effective Oct. 28, 2024.

   • Approved releasing Robbie Hall, title teacher from her 2024-2025 contract, effective Dec. 31, 2024.

   • Approved the reduction of a 1.0 FTE elementary teacher position.

   • Approved the 2024-2025 non-licensed staff  and licensed staff seniority lists. 

   The board has scheduled the following meetings: the regular meeting Wed., Dec. 18 at 5:30 p.m. and the Truth in Taxation meeting Wed., Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m., all meetings are held at Northland High School.

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