In agenda items and action taken at Monday’s Britton-Hecla Board of Education meeting not involving the Sora platform, a few policies were addressed. Amendments to two of the policies were approved addressing firearms (#5035 and #3038), one involving their use by adults and one involving students. Changes were made in the language of each policy to make it clear which group it targets and makes exceptions for law enforcement.
Potential changes to policy 4028 were tabled since Superintendent Steve Benson who was out sick was not present to discuss them and give feedback. Possible changes to this policy about substitute teachers was being suggested to make the parameters governing the pay of long-term subs clearer.
Policy committee member Heather Landreth noted that the group was looking at policy #5054 regarding student bullying. They are discussing adding bullying through means of artificial intelligence specifically though no action on the matter has been taken yet.
The Student Code of Conduct was also brought up. Though it is not a policy as approved by the board, the policy committee is helping construct it with feedback from the board and faculty and administration. Schuller asked why copies of the code were not being made available to the public and Landreth noted that the final draft would be provided by the next meeting.
In other open forum topics during the meeting, Sandy Gresh noted that she was unable to find certain policies on the school website and potential changes being made to some policies were unclear in the ones that were on the site.
Teacher Paula Hanson shared a list of activities that had excited her fourth graders, ranging from their favorite subjects to the special movie they attended before Christmas. She highlighted how the students expressed appreciation for tackling challenging topics in social studies, such as segregation and slavery. According to Hanson, the students felt that understanding these difficult subjects helps them become informed citizens and contributes to preventing such injustices in the future.
In other board business, an agreement with the City of Britton to use the Event Center was finalized. The school will pay $10,000 over the course of the year to use the facility. Previously the agreement was for $12,000.
In future planning items, should a school board election be needed, the board approved June 9 as the date of that. Terms are ending for Audrey Schuller, Troy Knecht and Kurt Zuehlke. Voting will take place in both Britton and Hecla.
The next board meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m.
Temperature: 12°F Town: Britton, SD
Pressure: 1020 hPa
Wind: 19 mph
