School District 
#261

Board of Trustees present: Zone 1 Liz Bingham, Zone 2 Peter Gibbons, Zone 3 Jeff Schroeder, Zone 4 Annette Lott, Zone 5 Staci Leavitt. Others present: Superintendent Brent Johnson, Assistant Superintendent/Curriculum Director Ryan Evans, District Clerk Jodi Stewart, HR Director Gina Cakebread, Transportation Director Tim Hicks, Federal Programs Director Kim Lickley, Special Services Director Toni Harbaugh, Technology Director Tyler Wardle, District Social Worker Rachel DelValle, Terrance Handyside Kyle Cleveland and Matthew Tipton with SSC Services, Jonathan Gillen with Charter Impact, community members, teachers and staff.

1. Call to Order 4:30 p.m.

   1. Pledge of Allegiance - Brent Johnson

   2. Waive reading of the minutes of the previous board meeting as submitted to each board member.

   3. Approval of Agenda (Action)

A motion was made by Peter Gibbons and seconded by Annette Lott to waive the reading of the minutes of the previous board meeting and approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

Individuals who wish to address the Board of Trustees regarding any action items must sign in prior to the start of the regular board meeting at 4:30 p.m. and placed before each action item on the agenda.

2. Jerome School District Presentations:

   1. Excellence in Education Staff Awards for February

      1. Certified Elementary - Megan Bailey Horizon Elementary

      2. Certified Secondary - Ryker Harris Jerome High School

      3. Classified - Sandra Kissinger Horizon Elementary

   2. Administrator Special Report

      1. Jill Taylor - Horizon Elementary

3. Consent Agenda (Action)

   1. Approval of Previous Minutes

      1. January 27, 2026

      2. February 9, 2026

   2. Financials

      1. Budget Update

      2. Financial Report

      3. Building Financial Reports

         1. Jefferson Elementary School

         2. Frontier Elementary School

         3. Horizon Elementary School

         4. Summit Elementary School

         5. Jerome Middle School

         6. Jerome High School

         7. Falls City Academy

         8. Special Services

   3. Personnel Changes 2025-26 SY

A motion was made by Staci Leavitt and seconded by Jeff Schroeder to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

4. Approval of Bills (Action)

   1. Bills Approval

A motion was made by Peter Gibbons and seconded by Staci Leavitt to approve the bills as presented. The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

5. Scheduled Visitors (Information)

   1. Presentation by STARR Corp: 

      1. HVAC Contractor Bids HVAC Contractor Bid

      2. Lighting Bid

6. Correspondence from the Board (Information)

   1. Trustee Committee Report

      1. Staci Leavitt

         1. Teacher Leadership Team

      2. Jeff Schroeder

         1. Wellness Committee 

         2.  Facilities Committee

      3. Liz Bingham

         1. Policy Review Committee

         2. Legislative Update

      4. Peter Gibbons

         1. Foundation Committee 

         2. Safety Committee

      5. Annette Lott

         1. Curriculum Committee

7. Reports to the Board (Information)

   1. Chartwells

   2. Terrance Handyside - SSC

      1. January Take Away

   3. Tim Hicks - Transportation Department

   4. Kim Lickley - Federal Program Department

   5. Tyler Wardle - Technology Department

   6. Gina Cakebread - HR Department

   7. Toni Harbaugh - Special Services Department

   8. Ryan Evans  - Curriculum Department

   9. Brent Johnson - Superintendent

      1. Shared Goals/Building Admin Board Reports

      2. High School Accreditation Success:

         1. Jerome High School has achieved a score of Accredited with Merit from Cognia following their Accreditation Engagement Review from the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC)

      3. Summer School & Migrant Programming

         1. This summer, we will consolidate our middle and high school summer programs at Jerome High School.

         2. We will continue our two-week Migrant Summer program.

         3. We will not be offering an elementary summer school this year.

      4. Personnel & Fiscal Course Correction

      5. Falls City Academy (FCA) & Virtual Expansion

      6. Food Service Update

         1. currently conducting a second round of interviews.

      7. Evaluation & District Momentum

8. Board Business 

   1. Continuing Business

      1. Policy (Action)

         1. 2340F1 (2340) Parental Opt-Out Form For Sex Education (2nd Reading Action)

         2. 2320F2 Parental Opt-Out Form For Sex Education (2nd Reading Action)

         3. 7000 Series (2nd Reading Action)

         4. 7235P Written Compensation Procedure (2nd Reading Action)

         5. 7260 Student Activity Fund (2nd Reading Action)

         6. 7400 Miscellaneous Procurement Standards (2nd Reading Action)

         7. 7400P2 Procurement Methods Under a Federal Award (2nd Reading Action)

         8. 7400P4 Miscellaneous Procurement Standards - General Procurement Standards for Federal Awards (2nd Reading Action)

         9. 7403 Procurement of Goods and Services for School Meal Programs (2nd Reading Action)

         10. 7405 Public Works Contracting and Procurement (2nd Reading Action)

         11. 7405P Procuring Public Works, Services, and Personal Property (2nd Reading Action)

         12. 7407 Public Procurement of Goods and Services (2nd Reading Action)

         13. 7408 Entering into Professional Service Contracts with Design Professionals, Construction Managers, and Professional Land Surveyors—The Request for Qualifications Policy (2nd Reading Action)

         14. 7409 Federal Cash Management Policy - Federal Program Income(2nd Reading Action)

         15. 7440 Credit Cards (2nd Reading Action)

         16. 7450P2 Federal Cash Management Policy - Federal Program Income (2nd Reading Action)

         17. 7600F Declaration of Financial Emergency Resolution (2nd Reading Action)

         18. 7710 Bond Continuing Disclosure and Certification Requirements (2nd Reading Action)

A motion was made by Staci Leavitt  and seconded by Peter Gibbons to approve Policy 2340F, 2320F2, 7000 Series, 7235P, 7260, 7400, 7400P2, 7400P4, 7403, 7405, 7405P, 7407, 7408, 7409, 7440, 7450P2, 7600F, 7710 as presented. The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

New Business

2. Policy (Information)

   1. 7430 Travel Allowances and Expenses (1st Reading Information)

   2. 7430F Travel Expense Reimbursement Form (1st Reading Information)

   3. 8100 Transportation (1st Reading Information)

   4. 8103 Vehicles Other than School Buses Used to Transport Students (1st Reading Information)

   5. 8105P Extracurricular Transportation - Discipline (1st Reading Information)

   6. 8110 Safety Busing (1st Reading Information)

   7. 8120 Bus Routes, Stops and Non-Transportation Zones (1st Reading Information)

   8. 8130 Transportation of Students with Disabilities (1st Reading Information)

   9. 8140 Student Conduct on Buses (1st Reading Information)

3. Consideration of the New English Language Arts (ELA) Curriculum for Grades 6–12 (Information)

4. Consideration and Approval of the HVAC Project Bid and Award of Contract (Action)

A motion was made by Staci Leavitt and seconded by Jeff Schroeder to approve the HVAC Bid and Award Contract.

The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

5. Consideration and Approval of the Lighting Bid and Award of Contract (Action)

A motion was made by Peter Gibbons and seconded by Jeff Schroeder to approve the Lighting Bid and Award Contract.

The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

6. Consideration and Approval of the Falls City Academy Middle School and Online Expansion Plan (Action)

A motion was made by Staci Leavitt and seconded by Peter Gibbons to approve the Falls City Academy Middle School and Online Expansion Plan. The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

7. Consideration and Approval of Additional Teaching Positions (Action)

   1. Two (2) fourth grade teaching positions at Jefferson Elementary

   2. One (1) teaching position at Falls City Academy

A motion was made by Peter Gibbons and seconded by Staci Leavitt to approve two additional fourth grade teaching positions at Jefferson and one additional teaching position at Falls City Academy. The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

8. Consideration and Approval to Authorize Administration to Proceed with a Reduction in Force of 18 Certified Positions Effective the 2026–27 School Year (Action)

A motion was made by Staci Leavitt and seconded by Peter Gibbons to authorize administration to proceed with a Reduction in Force of 18 certified positions effective the 2026–27 school year. The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

9. Approval of Out of State Travel (Action)

   1. Jerome Middle School Travel to Annual Lagoon Trip in Utah

   2. Jerome High School TRIO College Visits in Washington

A motion was made by Staci Leavitt and seconded by Annette Lott to approve the two out of state travel requests as presented.  The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

2. Community Engagement and Support (Information)

3. Meeting Schedules and Governance (Information)

9. Agenda Planning (Information)

   
   

10. Audience of Citizens (Information)

    1. Betty Maciel - addressed the Board on non agenda items

       
       

11. Executive Session (Action)

    1. IC 74-206(1)(b)(d) – Personnel or Student.(b)To consider the evaluation, dismissal or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent or public school student; and (d) to consider records that are exempt from disclosure as provided in Chapter 1, Title 74, Idaho Code.

A motion was made by Staci Leavitt and seconded by Jeff Schroeder that the Board of Trustees of Jt. Jerome School District #261 recess into executive session in the manner and for the purpose authorized by Section 74-206(1)(b)(d), Idaho Code, regarding personnel issues involving employees or student issues involving students of the district. The motion passed by roll call vote: 

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

The board recessed into executive session at 6:08 p.m.

The board returned to open session at 6:35 p.m.

12. Consideration of Personnel Executive Item(s)

    1. Accept recommendation of district admin to dismiss Classified Employee P2526-12

A motion was made by Peter Gibbons and seconded by Annette Lott to approve the recommendation to dismiss classified staff employee P5626-12. The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

13. Consideration of Student Executive Item(s) (Action)

    1. Per Idaho Code 33-205(3) and 74-206(1)(b) the board considered one (1) student discipline issue and took action accordingly. Such action shall be documented in the students educational record and is confidential pursuant to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other applicable state and federal code and regulation provisions and parents and student were notified of the decision.

    2. Truancies:

A motion was made by Staci Leavitt and seconded by Jeff Schroeder to approve the District Clerk's Declaration of Truancy for twelve (14) students as presented. The motion passed by the following:

AYE: Liz Bingham

Peter Gibbons

Jeff Schroeder

Peter Gibbons

Staci Leavitt

14. Adjourn (Action) There being no other business before the board, Chairman Liz Bingham adjourned the meeting at 6:37p.m.