The CAM School District’s Board of Education met Monday evening, at the High School, in Anita. Superintendent Dr. Casey Berlau told KJAN News this (Wednesday) morning, that the Board appointed a replacement for retiring Board Secretary/Treasurer Linda Edwards. Edwards has been with the District for many years. She announced her retirement in January, which is effective at the end of March. The Board hired Lindsey Jahde to step into the position. Berlau acknowledged the District is in the early stages of discussing with the Atlantic School District, the sharing of a Financial Officer. Atlantic Superintendent Steve Barber mentioned the subject during last week’s meeting of the Atlantic School Board. The CAM Board also approved an early retirement incentive for High School Science Teacher Gary Ruderman. The School gives $1,000 to an employee if they notify them by February 19^th of their early retirement.

In other business, the CAM School Board discussed the purchase of new computers. He said the District was one of the first to jump on the 1-to-1 laptop initiative. Some of those computers are in the 4^th year. The Board opted to order from Apple for MacBook Air computers for around $430,000. They also bought new computers for the Elementary students, which is different from previous practice. In the past the old machines have been passed onto the earlier grades, but because Apple is offering a buy-back program, the Board decided to opt for new laptops. And, Berlau says they discussed and approved some upcoming Capital Improvement Projects. One of the projects was fencing for the softball field. The Board approved a bid of $12,000 for the project. There was also a bid to paint the high school gym interior walls.

Dr. Berlau said they also talked about exploring the replacement of a Middle School Boiler. They also received the CAM Education Association’s (CAMEA) opening offer for negotiations for the 2018-19 Master Contract. He said the teachers asked for an 8% increase on the base wage. The CAM Board has 10-days to respond to the offer. He said also, near the end of their meeting, the CAM School Board held brief discussion on the tragic school shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead. Many districts are talking about school safety and how to best prepare for a violent event.

Berlau said the district’s staff has gone through ALICE Active Shooter Response Training (Alice stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate), but he said with new teachers and staff coming on board, it’s a good idea to update yearly, plans to review the information and train new personnel.