School board expels two, discusses 'religious liberty' policy

"We pay 15 percent in addition to the pump price for future tank replacement costs," Ebeling told the board. "We believe we would be able to do this much less expensively by putting in our own (7,000-gallon, above-ground) tanks."

Of the 15 percent charged by the city, 5 percent is earmarked for administrative purposes. The remaining 10 percent is allocated to a side fund, which currently equals nearly $260,000, and is to be deemed for replacement tanks. According to Ebeling, current city plans are for the underground tanks to be replaced in another year.

As the Spencer superintendent indicated the district paid $21,000 to the city during one calendar year for the administrative fee, he then asked board members whether they thought the district should continue doing so or erect their own fuel tanks.

Ed Ver Steeg, who noted his family runs gas stations, said a "pro" to the district erecting its own would be not paying the extra 15 percent fee. The "cons" he then listed included insurance costs and the district being responsible for any spills, as well as the constant maintenance needed on the pumps.

"I would say if we can negotiate with the city for a lower percentage, I'd think we're better off doing that than having to maintain our own tanks. And then, if anything hits the ground, it's their problem; not ours," Ver Steeg said.

As Ebeling indicated city officials are willing to renegotiate this matter, he added, "The concern that I have is the dollars we've spent. We could have went to Green Plains and bought the fuel cheaper right out of their pump than what we were paying at some times. This is a general fund thing, folks. It's still big dollars, and we're spending a lot of money.

"With the city, it still could be a real asset for us in terms of we could actually purchase part of the city tanks and use PPEL dollars to do that. They can pay us back and (we'd) recoup those dollars in the general fund. So, while we've been paying that 15 percent out of the general fund, they could send us a bill for our part of the tanks and we could pay for it with PPEL dollars. So, the question now is what they'll negotiate to. ... Because I have a serious concern with this price issue. Because the sense is, as I've been looking at this, we've been paying some pretty high diesel fuel costs, even without the 15 percent. ... We did not see a drop in our fuel price all fall. At the pumps, we saw a huge drop. But all fall we did not."

Ebeling told board members he'd gather more information for a future board discussion.

In action taken last night, the board unanimously expelled two Spencer High School underclassmen. The first, for the possession of marijuana on school property, will be suspended for the remainder of this semester. The second, for stealing over $2,500, will be expelled until January 2010. The mother of both male teenagers did not contest the expulsions.

Board members David Schlichtemeier and Barb Van Wyk presented a tentative "religious liberty" policy "purpose and philosophy" they'd crafted. As written, it currently states:

* "School will not discriminate against private religious expression.

* "School will educate about, not indoctrinate religious faith.

* "Promote dialogue between schools and community concerning faith.

* "Create a climate of academic freedom concerning faith issues.

* "Allow for student and employee religious expression within the law.

* "School will neither promote or disparage religious faith."

As board members were encouraged to invite community members to serve on a committee addressing the details of this proposed policy, the superintendent assured this is an attempt to move forward on something the board does not currently address in its policies.

"We're not trying to create a firestorm or anything like that," Ebeling said. "It's because we're trying to do things that we can legally do and also help our teachers know where the line is with a lot of these things. Because a lot of teachers here, my sense is, are very conservative around this area because they don't know where the line is."

"The point is: It is OK to bring your faith with you into your classroom," Schlichtemeier, the board president, added.

Before the board entered a closed session to discuss upcoming negotiations with the Spencer Education Association, Marti Bomgaars and Todd Korbitz stated how they stand on upcoming budget-reduction talks for 2009-10. While Bomgaars said, "I just don't know how we can do this without people cuts," Korbitz reiterated that he will not approve any reductions to student programs of any kind.

"It's our job to keep the ship afloat," Schlichtemeier told his peers around the board table.

Ebeling also alerted board members to the fact that all districts within the state will be expected to apply for a voluntary 4-year-old preschool grant within the next couple years.

"It's not an option," he said. "The expectation is that all schools will apply for this and go through the process. Now, what we can do is partner with our current preschools within the community and have them be tied in with this. We've started those talks and started the meetings with all the partners that we have to bring to the table about this. There are a lot. ... It's to make access to preschool across the state, and this is something that the (Department of Education) is going to force on us. So, we're going to write the grant, turn it in and see where we end up."

Ebeling continued, "This will be state funded if they allocate dollars for the preschool this year. They have the last two years. They're committed to it. But, yeah, it may not be funded this year, but it will come back because it's one of their priorities. And, then it will go on our student count. So, the first year is the only year it's funded. After that, it goes on student count and we get .6 for every student in preschool."

In other discussion and action by the board:

* A two-hour elementary literacy presentation was offered by Kathy Elliott, Lucas DeWitt, Julie Hansen, Amy Blau, Kim Moser, Lisa Horst, Troy Kaufman, Stephanie Anderson, Cindy De Vlaeminck, JoAnne McCullough, Carol Hanthorne and Julie Finnern.

* Board members conducted a second reading on recommended changes to 15 district policies in the 500-series and approved them without discussion, putting them in place in their newly-altered forms. They were then told to read the 600-series of board policies -- which cover the goals and objectives of the district's education program, its general organization, its programs of instruction, its instructional arrangements, services, student programs and institutional relations -- and forward any potential changes to Ebeling by Monday, Feb. 16. The superintendent told board members this would be one-third, or the final set of policies, they would need to review this year.

* It learned that plans are under way for Positively Spencer Youth to host a student dance sometime in March.

* It was informed that a "teen center" environment will be created on Friday, Feb. 27 for high school students and on Saturday, Feb. 28 for middle school students at Spencer Bowl. During these two evenings, the business will be closed to the general public, allowing students a free night to bowl, play Wii games, play pool, have snacks and drinks, and to simply have fun. Plans are for the teen center setting to be hosted again at Spencer Bowl on Friday, March 27 for high school students and on Saturday, March 28 for middle school students.