School to purchase credit card machines
Credit card machines will be purchased by Holyoke School District Re-1J through Bank of Colorado, as approved at the Oct. 2 meeting of the Board of Education.
Referring to his board presentation Sept. 5, budget and finance director Ben Rahe noted that hand-held devices will be used at concessions stands, while building secretaries will use a virtual terminal by logging in to a webpage.
Rahe explained that the hand-held devices can be turned around so that customers swipe their own cards to take it out of the hands of student servers. Additionally, the supervision by activity sponsors was emphasized for these transactions.
Due to security policies which need to be in place prior to implementation, Rahe said he’s hoping they’ll be able to use the credit card machines by the start of the high school basketball season in December.
Preliminary student count shows an increase of 11
Reporting on a preliminary look at the Oct. 1 student count and comparing it to recent years, Superintendent John McCleary told the board that it’s good news.
Last fall’s seat count was 578, while this year’s is estimated at 589, up 11. The budget was built on a student count of 575, so the numbers are encouraging.
Per-pupil funding in the district, after the negative factor, was $7,779.67 in the fall of 2016 and looks to be $8,097.65 this year.
Staff focus groups to give input for hiring principal
Starting the process of hiring a principal for Holyoke JR/SR High when Susan Ortner finishes the 2017-18 school year, McCleary will be looking for a staff group to assist with input.
Initially he used the term focus groups for the principal hiring process but revised that to encompass more of a transition management team.
He emphasized the importance of the process to address communication and culture and to encourage flexibility. McCleary said he will start working with Ortner in selecting a core group of representatives to begin these conversations to share ideas.
Staff participating in crisis intervention training
Five staff members are attending the Oct. 2-4 Crisis Intervention Team training hosted by the Holyoke Police Department at the First Baptist Church in Holyoke, reported McCleary at Monday’s meeting.
After the first day of the program, McCleary and Elementary Principal Kyle Stumpf gave a positive review to the board on information they had gained as the three-day program started.
In addition to McCleary and Stumpf, local staff participating in the training are JR/SR high counselor Angela Powell, elementary school counselor Kathleen Kropp and alternative school supervisor Cindi Beavers.
Other business
In other business at Monday night’s meeting, the school board:
—Scheduled a special meeting for Monday, Nov. 13, at 5:30 p.m. to swear in the board members elected Nov. 7 and to reorganize the board.
—Approved nonresident students Amairany Murillo and Alexis Montelongo from Julesburg.
—Gave first-reading approval to four policies on safe schools, records retention, violent and aggressive behavior, and public conduct on school property.
—Heard a request for discussion on the district’s maternity leave policy, which will return to the Oct. 17 meeting agenda.
—Began discussion on potential ways for Dragon Booster Club members to be highlighted in the gym and on the field. Athletic director Sandra Rahe cited the wooden board currently in the gym. Consideration was also voiced for a standardized approach of sponsorship based on a tiered level of donation.