Superintendent Board Report February 2019

General Comments:  Everyone is working hard, and morale is good. Lots of flu with staff and family. Only 3 weeks to March. 😊

 Teachers/Students:

Spelling Bee was held at Silver Peak Community Center after which the students and staff enjoyed a lunch and informal activities at the school.  First place winners were Juliessa (1^st), Nolan (2), Lora (3), Michael Abbott (4th), Tuli (5), Naomi (6^th) and Julian Jiminez (8th). The next Spelling Bee round will be held March 9th at Meadows School Las Vegas.  

Most of all the students at all schools were bussed right after the Spelling Bee to the final two Basketball games of the season at Tonopah Middle School. The Mustangs won both games. Heartfelt thanks again to John and Val.

Our mid-year MAP Assessments were conducted the last week of January.

The Staff Test Coordination and NWEA data training was held February 8^th. Updates for staff on Safety as well.

Second reminder: Melinda obtains and posts monthly school items for the calendar on our website the last two weeks of each month.  Please go to our website for student and staff calendar activities across the district in January.

District Facilities Update.

SPE Phase three:  See previous Supt reports. Water leak in Kitchen and replacement of two wall furnaces.

More safety considerations: see January report.

We still have three roofs to complete in SPE.

Goldfield Phase III: See previous supt. reports. Phase III will include more safety (visual tech) implementation.

I have some temporary help (Bill Hoffman GF) for Manny to assist help the district catch up at SPE and GF. They are in the process of creating a STEM lab out of the old board room. As previously noted curriculum and other items that have been stored for years in that room were cleared out. They are ready to replace the floor covering with flat carpet squares like what is already in the school. There are portable shelves in that area that can be used for the lab and for use in the maintenance shops.  Manny has completed the gutter installation.

We still have at least two roofs to complete in GF.

Dyer: See previous Supt reports. At the old school house Brian has completed replacing the windows to keep the dust off our expensive lab equipment. He has installed outlets for the lab equipment as well. He has worked on several lesser items such as repair and replace bathroom fixtures in a teacherage and septic stop.

Doug and I are considering constructing an extension to the Dyer bus barn. It would be like the “Absolute Steel” product that was used for the carports we just completed;  except it would be a fully enclosed building. It would probably extend over the concrete pad that currently exists. This will allow more room for bus maintenance. It would also create more storage for classroom overages. We are currently using a bus for storage (see attached photos). I will ask for authorization to purchase something under 25K. We might be able to do a Barn Raising activity for this during the Spring Break?

Divine Fencing has been absent for a month now.

We still have two roofs to complete in Dyer.

Safe and Orderly school environment.  Since last month Melinda has updated our flip charts for teacher use in emergencies. We will distribute and train on them February 8^th. She is also updating our school site overlays for evacuation routes.

Ace Fire:  I contacted Mike again. He has promised to be out to finish the project but has not done so.

Communications: The Valley Electric Voice Over IP (VOIP) system for our phone is complete and the equipment is installed. We are currently familiarizing ourselves with its use.

Technology.  Oasis offered recommendations for camera placement on each site. The Site Incident Commanders (ASOs) will review them with their staff. Completed camera survey. GF Gym with internet services as well.

Real Estate:  Last month I reported that we continue to move us along on the Title/Deed issue associated with the Don Spitere. He was granted authority to sell by our Judge and once the Clerk has completed her part we can proceed (see attached). Doug has expressed an interest in leveling that area with borrowed County Equipment, placing aggregate and then parking transportation assets there.

We now have proof of ownership for the 5.08 acres East of GF. Our broker has contacted the buyer and escrow approved.

Personnel. As previously noted I have met with 22 staff this fall and conducted a pre-evaluation with each. We addressed the 1) evaluation rubric and process, 2) their goals and 3) resources that they may need to accomplish their goals. I have conducted several informal “Walk-Throughs” and three formal observations.  I have given temporary custodial hours (16-18 weekly) to one of our parents and asked Angela to cover the front office more when Melinda is on the West side of the district. This will allow me the time I need in the classrooms.

The Superintendent Secretary/District Admins Assistant position has been tentatively approved by MOU as “Confidential” by both the Organization and Management. I need to see the draft yet.

 Superintendent/Board:  

The completed Board Self Eval is due in February.

We were able to complete our second review of Student Policy 7000 series.

One of you suggested that I was writing my own evaluation.  Just a reminder for those that may not remember. I turned in a self-evaluation for this last rating period just like I did last year. All staff are required to do a self-evaluation. It is part of the Standards for Success (SFS) process that we use for our staff. I would do it even if it was not. It is an established and proven professional approach by supervisors. I am not telling board members how to evaluate their superintendent. I am following standard district protocol. You may use my input or ignore it.   

We lost Jeff Horn (NASB Director) and Robert Slaby (NASA Director) resignations. ☹