Gateway SD board elects president, approves 2025 calendar, solicitor and Gateway Middle change order

Leslie McBride was elected president of the Gateway SD School Board during the reorganization meeting on Dec. 2, 2024, and the board approved several routine governance and administrative items, including the 2025 school calendar, reappointment of the board solicitor, personnel employment, policy approvals and a construction change order at Gateway Middle School.

The board opened the reorganization session by running a secret ballot to choose a president and then proceeded to standard business for the regular meeting. The board voted to set the 2025 school board calendar as presented and to reappoint Bruce Dice & Associates as board solicitor. Board members approved the list of bills for December 2024, moved personnel employment for one individual, and approved administrative policies and extracurricular items, including policy 249, the Bake Club at Gateway Middle School, and listed conferences.

Nut graf: The meeting combined the annual leadership elections with routine approvals that set the district’s operational framework for the new year. The board also voted to adopt the district’s Act 1 index for the 2025–26 school year and to pay a previously unsubmitted change-order invoice tied to stormwater work at Gateway Middle School.

Among the most significant administrative items, business manager Mike (surname not specified in transcript) reported the Act 1 index for the 2025–26 school year is 5.0, which he said equates to 1.23 mills; he said the district’s intent is not to raise taxes above the existing 25.2718-mill level. The board approved the Act 1 index at the item listed on the agenda.

The meeting included a discussion of a change order for Gateway Middle School tied to an unforeseen stormwater tank and related drainage work. Staff said the work was discovered in November 2021, completed at that time, and that the vendor had not previously submitted the bill. The board approved payment of the outstanding invoice, described in the meeting as about $24,000, and approved the change order.

Board members also discussed federal funding for district programs. The district’s business official said the district receives roughly $8 million to $9 million per year in federal funding for various programs, including special-education funding, and that there is no current definitive information about potential federal-level changes.

The board recorded that it had held an executive session earlier in the evening, from roughly 5:30 p.m. to about 5:55 p.m., for legal and personnel matters. The meeting adjourned after the regular agenda items.

Votes at a glance: - Election of board president (nominees listed on the floor): outcome — Leslie McBride elected president (by board ballot). - Set 2025 school board calendar (Motion to set the school board calendar for the 2025 year): approved (voice/roll call recorded as "Aye"). - Reappoint Bruce Dice & Associates as board solicitor (Motion to reappoint): approved (voice recorded as "Aye"). - List of bills for December 2024 (Item 5.1): approved (roll call recorded as "Aye"). - Personnel (Item 6.1 employment of one individual as listed): approved (motion/second and vote recorded as "Aye"). - Administrative regulations and policies (Item 7.1 approve policy 249; Item 7.2 approve Bake Club at Gateway Middle School; Item 7.3 approve listed conferences): approved (roll call recorded as "Aye"). - Act 1 index for 2025–26 (Item 8.1): approved (board action recorded as approved). - Change order for Gateway Middle School related to stormwater tank (Item 8.2; invoice described in discussion as about $24,000): approved (board action recorded as approved). - Minutes approval (two sets of minutes referenced on the agenda): approved (motion/second; voice recorded as "Aye"). - Adjournment: approved (voice recorded as "Aye").

Ending: The board concluded with holiday remarks and adjourned. The board noted the earlier executive session on legal and personnel matters; no additional public action was announced as a result of that session during the meeting.