Trenton R-9 Will Have 2020 Summer School; Changes Likely

There will be summer school in the Trenton R-9 School District in 2020 and changes are anticipated. What those changes will be are still to be determined following action taken on Tuesday night by the Trenton R-9 Board of Education.
On a vote of 6-0, with Brandon Gibler absent, members approved holding summer school using Catapult Learning. However, the same group voted 3-3 to approve the summer school handbook, which included several proposed changes designed to address some of the issues experienced during the 2019 session, including discipline and transportation policies.
Trenton Middle School Assistant Principal Jackie Price, who serves as the summer school principal, said there were 330 students enrolled this past year, with students coming from Trenton, Grundy R-5, Princeton and Spickard. While that number is not unmanageable, Mrs. Price noted that the lack of a required enrollment deadline in the R-9 District resulted in not having enough staff and some classrooms had as many as 27 students. As a result, there were several discipline problems that resulted in between 25 to 30 students being sent to the office multiple times. Mrs. Price said the discipline issues disrupted efforts by staff to teach the curriculum. She noted that summer school is also different in that individual students services offered during the regular school year are not included as a part of the summer school program, such as counseling and one-on-one student assistance.
Mrs. Price suggested the board consider changing the discipline policy which would result in students being sent home for the day after one office referral, then expulsion from summer school if a second referral is made. She said that if the board preferred, expulsion could be done after the third referral. Board member Dorothy Taul expressed concerns about the summer discipline policy being more strict than the one used during the regular school year. It was noted that summer school is not required to be offered by the district, so the discipline policies can be different to address certain situations. In answer to a question posted by one board member, Mrs. Price said summer school is being used by parents in place of daycare for some students.
The handbook also proposed having just one morning and one afternoon bus stop for students or having students be car riders instead of allowing parents to call the school during the day to change a student’s transportation schedule. Mrs. Prince said that exceptions would be made regarding students who move as well as emergencies.
A specific enrollment deadline is also included in the handbook, which Mrs. Price said would help in making sure enough staff is hired to meet student needs. She said there was no need to cap the number of students for summer school if there is enough staff, however, it was noted this year’s numbers may be limited due to construction planned at Rissler School.
Voting in favor of the handbook were Dr. David Whitaker, Corey Leeper and Cliff Roeder. Opposed were Doug Franklin, Marcie Cutsinger and Ms. Taul. It was decided to bring the handbook back to the board for consideration in January. Mrs. Price asked for input from board members and said she would also be meeting with other R-9 personnel.
The board heard an update regarding the construction project from Dennis Gutshall, who noted work is under way on the new concession stand at C.F. Russell Stadium and that all the footings are in place for the performing arts center. Footings for the hallway between the main building and ag building should be completed this week. Weather permitting, installation of the pre-cast wall panels for the arts center will begin on Jan. 20 and will take about two weeks. R-9 personnel are developing a plan to move students from the construction area while the panels are being installed, with students in 10 classrooms having to be moved to other areas during the two-week period. It is hoped the plan can be completed and relayed to staff prior to Christmas break.
In other business, the board:
• selected senior McKenna Cox as the R-9 recipient of the John. T Belcher Scholarship. She will receive $250 and will represent the district in regional competition, where she will be eligible for a $750 scholarship award.
• approved the 2018-19 school audit. Bob Conrad with Conrad and Higgins told the board that the district was in good financial shape. Highlights of the audit included 84 percent of teacher retirement being funded and that while the district had over 1,100 students, the average daily attendance was 1,083.
• heard a report on the district counseling program, with a master counseling manual to be presented to the board for approval at the January meeting.
• was told testing was successful on district cafeteria sprinklers.
• reviewed principal reports and recognized the Trenton Middle School Students of the Month.
Following an executive session, the board accepted letters of retirement from Success Center Director and former THS Principal Ron Franklin, TMS art instructor Penny Roberts, TMS math teacher Mary Woodson, TMS social studies teacher Karla Lowrey and fourth grade teacher Lisa Wallace. They will retire at the end of the school year.
Hired as paraprofessionals to begin after the Christmas break were Amanda Spears and Alexandria Neighbors. Hired as subs were Tenna Roberts and Ashten Witten.