Keystone board seeks more information on spending ESSER funds

Jonathon Arneberg, who was representing National Heritage Academies at the Dec. 9 in-person meeting of the Keystone Academy board of directors, told the board that in January NHA will prepare a more detailed report on spending of federal ESSER funds to the vendor level.
Arneberg said NHA is striving for transparency. He was present virtually.
Board members pointed out changes from the last ESSER report and the current report which confused them. Board president Vesta Losen questioned the $35,800 designated for curriculum in ESSER II has not been spent and she was told it was reassigned.
The latest report said ESSER I had a total allocation of $99,389; ESSER II had $221,202; and ESSER III had $1,139,422. The three funds have different dates by which they must be used.
Arneberg promised them they would have more details next month. Arneberg was filling in for their regular NHA representative, Andrew Roth, who had to attend another meeting.
Board vice president Steven Harsant noted there was $48,270 designated for COVID Facility Maintenance and he had been asking for upgraded air filtration for Keystone. He said he was told they had put filters at all the NHA schools earlier this year.
“Just to put a new filter on doesn’t mean anything,” Harsant said. “That needs to be changed regularly.” He said he wasn’t told where the filters were put and he needs detailed information on Keystone’s particular building.
Arneberg said Roth told him NHA already has invested in filtration. He said he would check into it.
“The information we have doesn’t meet my needs,” Harsant said and board secretary Pat Kirkpatrick said she also would like more information on that.
Harsant also asked about the $58,000 for COVID-19 stipends in ESSER I and Arneberg said the employees already received those stipends in May and October. They were $2,500 each for instructional staff and $1,250 each for support staff. More stipends are in ESSER II funds.
In other business at the Dec. 9 meeting, the board:
• Voted to put another $1,000 in the budget to pay for black, hooded rain jackets with the school’s logo and the employees name embroidered as Christmas marketing. The total allocation for the coats for the 60 employees was not to exceed $4,600. The charity Lasting Impressions helped the board get special prices on the jackets. The employees will receive them as a welcome-back gift when they return to work Jan. 3. Winter break begins Dec. 20;
• Heard Principal Jorvonna Drain present the fall 2021 employee engagement survey and results were all above the Education Benchmark. Forty-three of 52 employees responded. Drain summarized that the numbers were up from where they were in the spring and the staff is still in good spirits, doing the best that they can, despite the COVID, shootings, and short staff. “For the most part, our families feel very safe here,” she said;
• Heard Arneberg explain there is nothing new to report on the sale of the school facilities and it is in a “holding pattern.” Attorneys from NHA and the schools are working on it;
• Discussed the NWEA math and reading fall-to-fall test scores. Drain said they wanted to be at least 50% proficient and they are over that in all subjects. She said students are growing wherever they are and that’s important. Drain said there was a decrease in the 2020-21 school year in proficiency at grade level and there were slight decreases this fall. Losen said there was more loss the first year and the second year didn’t lose as much; and
• Approved funds for sports equipment.