NRHEG Board of Education
By REED WALLER
Staff Writer
Discussion was heavy at NRHEG’s March board meeting Monday, March 17, as members considered some complicated issues.
The issue of school hours for last Wednesday’s Girls Basketball Tournament opener was dealt with quickly. It was approved to make March 19 a non-student day. Employees were required to work, attend the game in supervisory capacity, or take the day off.
iPads vs 2-in-1
Currently the district has a blend of iPad 1’s and 2’s at both locations. The plan is to have iPad 2’s in grades 1-9, and have a cart of 30 for Kindergarten use. The iPad 1’s could be passed to the band department, and repurposed as music display devices, cutting down the need for sheet music and books.
The secondary school Teachers are up for receiving new devices for the classroom, which would be either a MacBook or an HP device that will align with whatever device will be recommended for 9-12 students.
NRHEG student Colton Hagen represented the Secondary School Business class with a presentation and discussion about alternatives to the iPad. He voiced issues the secondary school students had with the iPad.
“I have my own iPad. It’s fun to play with, but not so good for a high school student. It’s very slow for typing.”
If the iPad doesn’t provide everything a student needs, maybe there’s another device that does. Hagen’s class had been given a presentation of the Hewlett-Packard 2-in-1s, devices that can double as laptops and tablets.
The HP device, Hagen pointed out, is also durable and goes through military spec testing.
Hagen also criticized the uncontrolled traffic going on in the iPad-powered classroom because of lack of management software. Another device could be put into tutorial mode, where the units could all be set to walk students through a program and block other use during class time.
“We’ve done a poor job implementing the iPads,” admitted Supt. Dennis Goodwin. “Rolling out unprepared equals failure. There’s a lack of management software in place, and teachers are having problems managing classes. We’re going to fix that.”
Goodwin remarked that there are over 600,000 apps available for the iPad plus a multitude of online textbooks which are keyed to online curriculum software.
What is the turnover of these devices?
“The iPad is a 4-year device,” said Goodwin. “Years ago it was a ‘two-year world,’ meaning you could figure your computer or device would be obsolete in two years, but now it’s four.”
No board action was taken.
2014-15 Calendar
Mark Domeier and Shelly Mangskau presented a draft of the school calendar for the upcoming year.
Graduation would be May 31.
“Graduation was pushed back a week,” explained Domeier, “so that everyone goes to school the same days, and no one can complain that some students are done earlier than others.”
Nine late-start in-service days are distributed throughout the year, plus two extra in-service days in August, one the week before the Teacher Workshop.
“We need this time to get together and evaluate curriculum and programs,” said Mangskau.
“We’re still feeling very overwhelmed by all the stuff that’s been put on our plate by the state,” Domeier added.
Five weather-related make-up days are scattered through the calendar year.
“If there’s a snow day in February, we’ll make it up in February,” Domeier said.
No board action was taken at this time. “The calendar is their (staff’s) business and we’re trying to keep it that way,” said board chair Rick Shultz.
Bus leasing vs. ownership
The board discussed a lease agreement with Hoglund Bus Company to lease two new 77-passenger buses (priced at $174,000 minus $10,000 trade-in) to replace buses #10 and #46, for a four-year lease at $22,000 per year.
“$44,000 for the first four years of an $85,000 bus is a best value,” said Goodwin. Equipment and warranty would also be cost-equivalent to what the district would get with a purchase.
“I don’t see a lot of dollar difference in leasing over ownership,” said board member Shelly Moxon.
“It’s a matter of spreading the cost,” said Goodwin. The advantage to leasing the buses would be that it wouldn’t be a big expenditure at one time, plus the district would benefit from a five-year warranty that comes with the buses.
“How long does a bus last?” it was asked. “Eight years,” Matt Groskreutz answered. “But the first four years are when most of the wear and tear happens.”
“Have we only asked Hoglund? What about other companies?” asked Moxon.
“International buses are the best,” Groskreutz answered. “They’re what we want.”
Motion carried 5-1, Moxon against.
Other business
Spring coaches were approved for hiring.
Supt. Goodwin reported that the district was planning to add additional shop and Ag classes for this summer, next fall and winter.
Flexcom has done work on the school PA system which has been an improvement, and is interested in replacing Floyd Security as the district’s security systems provider.