MSBSD School Board swears in new members

The newly elected school board members were sworn into office during a work session for the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) prior to the regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday.

New members Ted Swanson from District 7, Jacob Butcher from District 5, Kathy McCollum from District 3, and Kendall Kruse from District 2 all took the oath of office. Ole Larson, representing District 6, was reelected and also took the oath of office.

MSBSD board incumbent Tom Bergey, who represents District 1 was elected to serve as school board president and Jubilee Underwood of District 4 was elected to school board vice president and finally, Kathy McCollum was selected to serve as board secretary.

It is the youngest board seen in several terms and with an equally unusual ratio of three women to four men. Once the swearing-in and reorganization of the board was completed, the work session commenced with a condensed training on board behavior and rules of order, led by attorney John Sedor.

The new school board then commenced with their regularly scheduled meeting, which by all considerations was routine. The board accepted the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.

During a presentation to the MSBSD board, the auditors reported not finding any material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, or items of non-compliance, meeting the recommended guidelines as set forth by the Association of School Business Officials’ Certificate of Excellence award program.

A comprehensive audit of the Federal Awards was also conducted to ensure that MSBSD is using federal awards appropriately, in compliance with applicable requirements and regulations of each grant award.

The auditors did report a significant deficiency in Internal Controls over Compliance, related to the Student Nutrition Program. The auditors identified that there were insufficient controls to ensure that reports for meal reimbursements were being reviewed prior to submission, which could result in inaccurate reporting of meal counts to the granting agency.

Administration has already prepared a corrective action plan.

The board also approved request from the Knik Charter School to pursue a grant that would fund a tribal liaison a counselor for the school

“The tribal liaison position would be unique to our school, and the counselor position would allow for us to fulfill the grant,” said Knik Charter principal Tyler Gilligan when asked about the grant request. Gilligan clarified that the tribal liaison position would fulfill many roles, acting as a literacy coach, interventionist, and help maintain the relationship of the Knik Tribe.

“When we’re doing our cultural infusion in different cultural activities, she coordinates that with the tribe and facilitates the implementation of those programs,” Gilligan told the board, before explaining that the position is currently paid for out of the Knik Charter School budget, and that if the grant request is accepted, those funds would go to paying for the salary and benefits for the next 3 years. The counselor would be a new position, and that a candidate has been identified but were awaiting approval to ensure funding before moving forward with the position.

“It (the grant) would allow us to increase graduation outcomes, increase student performance on different academic assessments.”

Ultimately, the measure did pass.

The next MSBSD School Board meeting is scheduled for January 11, 2023 at the School District Central Office.