December 2023 School Board Meeting

Board Post December 2023


The Mount Vernon R-V Board of Education held its Regular Meeting on Thursday, December 14.  Below are some items of information:


The Board recognized Kendra Emerson as the MV-MVP for the month of December.  Mrs. Emerson is a Fourth Grade teacher at MVIS.  Kendra’s nomination is included below:


Kendra is always willing to help a teacher or student. She has a positive attitude and starts and ends each day with a smile. Kendra meets the needs of individual students and takes extra

time and energy connecting with students that need some special attention.


When a student is showing big emotions Kendra’s calm presence allows the student to feel safe and heard. She sees the potential in each child and works to find ways for them to be 

successful.


She will sit with students during recess or plan time to make sure that they know that they are supported. Kendra is a vital member of the 4th grade team. She is excited about school- wide challenges and encourages both her class and other classes as well. She is taking LETRS classes and looks for ways to grow in the area of literacy.


Kendra loves Mt. Vernon and is supportive of the school district and community.


Congratulations to Mrs. Emerson and thank you for making it a great day to be a Mt’Neer!


Our attendance rate for November was 93.02% and our Average Daily In-Person Attendance was 1,340.62. This represents a slight decrease from this time last year but is still our second highest ADA since 2018.


The Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act passed in 2022 set standards for lead concentrations in school drinking water. 

  • This Act requires schools to conduct inventory, sampling, remediation, and monitoring at all potable drinking water outlets used or potentially be used for drinking, food preparation, and cooking or cleaning utensils.
  • All testing and remediation must be completed before August 1, 2024.
  • The District has contracted for this process to be completed over Christmas Break.

The Board approved the District’s annual audit submitted by KPM, Certified Public Accountants and Advisors.

  • The District finished the 2022 school year with a positive change in net position:  +$29,216
  • The Auditors Recommendations:
    • Cybersecurity:  
      • An emphasis was placed on preparedness related to cybersecurity as this issue is affecting more Districts across the state every year.
      • The District has already taken several new precautions due to requirements from MUSIC
    • Budgetary Compliance
      • There was one minor issue of budgetary compliance where the auditors suggested an expense be moved from Fund 4 to Fund 1.
      • When such a change is made, it throws the budget for each fund out of compliance as the expenses change, but there is not an opportunity for amending the budget.
    • Revenue and Expenditure Reporting
      • Districts are required to post quarterly a searchable revenue and expenditure document on our website 
      • Unfortunately, we were not completely up-to-date when the audit happened
      • Luckily, this was an easy recommendation to fix.
  • Only one Material Weakness was identified:
    • Due to the small number of District Office employees, the auditors identified Segregation of Duties related to finance as a material weakness.
    • This has been listed as a Material Weakness in our audit each of the past several years.

The Board approved a new course at MVHS called Mount Vernon Leadership Academy.

  • Dr. Prevo shared that this course would primarily focus on the development of leadership capacity among the NHS executive team and would begin in the 2024-2025 school year.

The Board authorized administration to seek a vendor to replace the synthetic turf at Mountaineer Stadium through a Cooperative Purchasing approach.

  • Cooperative Purchasing allows multiple businesses to combine their buying requirements onto a single contract and aggregate volume to enhance their purchasing power 
    • Its primary function is to allow businesses to partner with a cooperative to choose a vendor in which they have developed a trusting relationship.
  • This method has become the most popular approach to address this need as it provides several advantages:
    • The cooperative purchasing program ensures bids are competitive and the vendors are reputable rather than requiring a closed bid process which functions only to provide the lowest price.
      • It is quite common for vendors to include lower quality materials in order to provide a lower bid leaving the District unprepared for potential change orders.
    • The process allows for autonomy in choosing vendors; allows for customization of projects in advance; and allows for the submission of a Gross Maximum Price (GMP).

Mr. Johnston presented a report to the Board on the creation of a Mount Vernon School District Hall of Fame.

  • During the Continuous School Improvement Plan process last year, one of the Strategic Goals related to the anchor of Operational Effectiveness was “To provide a method to recognize former and current student and staff achievements.”
    • An Action Step to help achieve this goal was to investigate and implement a Mount Vernon R-V School District Hall of Fame.
    • The stated purpose of the Hall of Fame is to recognize academic, athletic, co-curricular, and career achievements of both students and staff.
  • Mr. Johnston has been working to learn about how other area Districts have structured their Halls of Fame and spent time reporting to the Board what potential frameworks for the implementation of this program might be.
  • The District plans to begin a Mount Vernon School District Hall of Fame beginning in the 2024-25 school year.

In Closed Executive Session:


The Board received information regarding the the following personnel matters:

  • Katie (White) Kwiejda is resigning from her position as a Title I Paraprofessional at the Elementary School effective at the end of first semester.
    • Mrs. Kwiejda was hired in July 2022 and has served as a Paraprofessional at MVES for the past 1.5 years.
  • Kendra Emerson will be moving from a Fourth Grade Position at MVIS to the Seventh Grade Math Position at MVMS.
    • This is to replace Sheila Hansen who is retiring at the end of this school year.

The Board approved the following personnel recommendation:

  • Lexie Sutherland was approved for a part-time Science Teaching Position at MVHS.
    • Ms. Sutherland is completing her student-teaching this month and will graduate from Evangel with certificates in Biology, MS Science, Elementary Education, and K-12 Health/PE.
    • Ms. Sutherland will begin at MVHS at the start of second semester.

The next scheduled meeting of the Mount Vernon R-V Board of Education will be Thursday, January 18 beginning at 7 PM in the District Office Board Room.