Gibbs gives updates on strategic plan, COVID and school security, board policies approved

SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Elementary School Board unanimously approved the Board Strategic Plan as it currently stands as well as reviewed other aspects of the school during their regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 19.

Superintendent Josh Gibbs presented the Strategic Plan’s goals and respective measurable objectives on how the school can continuously improve itself going into the future. The District School Improvement Team has had one meeting so far and they intend to have another one next month with future meetings taking place on a monthly basis.

During his report, Gibbs said SLE still has not had a positive COVID-19 case. A few students were considered close contacts and had to transition into remote learning which he said went well. Parent-teacher conferences were conducted remotely via phone call or video message to avoid additional contact. 

SLE intends to host its annual Christmas program, but productions will be split by grade level making it an all-day event. Organizers are still unsure if parents will be invited to attend in-person, but a live broadcast will most likely be shown online.

Boys basketball had their first game last week. They currently have six games scheduled for this season. Gibbs said it was becoming difficult to schedule games with many other teams saying that they were going to hold off until after November. He believes the girls basketball team will get to play at least six games after Christmas depending on conditions.

Gibbs said he is looking to restart SLE’s ski team for the winter season with the hope that students will be able to attend at least a few events.

He said they are currently entering the trial period to test out new security cameras for the school’s playground. They are using a company called Verkada, which Gibbs said was like the “Cadillac of cameras.” Features include license plate recognition, the ability to search for certain aspects like the color of one’s clothing and the ability to share footage directly with law enforcement.

The company sent five cameras to the school to try for 60 to 90 days. Basic outdoor cameras from Verkada cost $800 - $900 and come with a 10-year warranty. There is also an $80 annual hosting fee for every camera. Gibbs said he thought that they were going to be way more expensive than they actually are. After additional discussions and consideration, the purchase could take place in the future.

The board unanimously approved student attendance agreements as well as updates to their 1000 Series policies. The policies are intended to regulate the board and its operations. Some of the changes were just changing policy numbers while others were adding new policies.

New policies included providing liability insurance for board members and outlining the clerk’s responsibilities. The board unanimously voted to keep policies 1015 regarding school philosophy and objectives, 1402 regarding email distribution and 1521 regarding Superintendent expectations, although, an amendment was made to change the evaluation date. They unanimously voted to omit policy 1035 regarding board development and self-evaluation from the revised version due to ambiguous language.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 21 at 5:30 p.m.