The Pleasant View R-6 and Newtown-Harris R-3 boards of education held meetings recently, with the R-6 board hearing from several concerned patrons and the Newtown-Harris Board accepting two resignations.
Pleasant View R-6
Several patrons met with the Pleasant View R-6 Board of Education during a meeting held Tuesday, April 12, to discuss the existence of mold in a classroom and to ask the board to reconsider a personnel decision.
According to information provided by Superintendent Rebecca Steinhoff, the board agreed to allow each person to have a time limit of five minutes to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. Megan Devorss, Emily Cox and Tiffany Haffner all spoke about their concern that there has been mold in the third/fourth/fifth-grade classroom as well as their support for the reconsideration of offering Kelli Urton a teaching contract for the 2022-23 school year. Jennifer Roberts also spoke to the board, but only in regard to the board reconsidering the offering of Mrs. Urton a contract for the 2022-23 school year.
The board heard a presentation from First Onsite Restoration on the mold concerns in the classrooms. It was reported that testing has shown the air quality in all the areas of concern are within the healthy range. A copy of the test was given to each person in attendance. Air quality tests that were conducted by Brandon Spencer, a certified water restoration technician, also showed that the air quality in all of the classrooms was within a healthy range. The public was informed that they could reach out to Spencer at any time for questions concerning his testing.
Billy Wilson spoke about the air purifiers the school put in place last year using COVID funds. There are a total of 12 machines placed in various areas of the building that help kill bacteria and/or mold in the air.
A discussion was held on replacing the ceiling tiles in the kitchen this summer. A bid was received from Creative Ceilings, Inc. to install a new drop ceiling at a cost of $20,000 and board members voted to approve that bid.
Under new business, the oath of office was given to Danny Westcott and Laurie Frisbie, who were re-elected in the April 5 election. Board officers were elected and include Westcott, president; Damien Little, vice president; and Jack Bethards, treasurer.
With the new board seated, they took up the issue of salaries, with the board voting to increase the base teacher salary by $1,000 to $32,500. In addition, non-certified staff will see a 50-cent per hour increase with all staff members being eligible to move up a step in the pay scale. The vote was 6-0, with Jack Bethards abstaining.
The board approved a field trip request for students in sixth through eighth grades. The students will travel to Kansas City on Friday, April 29, where they will visit the Truman Presidential Library and Museum, Arabia Steamboat Museum, the World War I Memorial and Museum and Kauffman Stadium, where they will visit the Royals Hall of Fame and stay for a baseball game and fireworks. The trip is expected to last from 7 a.m. until about midnight.
In other business, the board heard teacher reports from Connie Olmstead, art instructor, and Japheth Busick, physical education instructor. A discussion was held on health insurance bids, with no action taken, and MSBA policy updates were approved. Board members also approved an early-out at 12:30 p.m. on April 27 to allow staff members to attend a professional development assembly presented by Gerry Brooks in Milan.
Mrs. Steinhoff gave an update on COVID and said the extra funding for COVID testing is no longer available. Several future dates of importance were shared with the board, including track meets, Easter break, KEYS graduation (10 a.m. May 5) and eighth grade graduation, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. May 6.
Following a closed session, the board voted to approve the resignation of preschool paraprofessional Cassie Shoop and the transfer of fifth grade teacher Sara Rayl to preschool paraprofessional for the 2022-23 school year. The board also voted to set Mrs. Steinhoff’s salary at $72,000 for 2022-23 school year. Bethards left the meeting and the board voted to rehire all non-certified employees for the 2022-23 school year.
The board has scheduled its next meeting for 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 10.
Newtown-Harris
The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board accepted two resignations, discussed summer school and approved meal prices for the 2022-23 school year during its meeting held Wednesday.
According to information provided by Superintendent Dr. Lucas McKinnis, the board voted to renew contracts for all classified staff for the 2022-23 school year and accepted the resignations of Jeff Wick as music teacher and Dan Neil as science teacher. Denise Ewing was hired as speech-language pathologist, providing services to the district for the coming school year.
Other action items included approval of a field trip to Blank Park Zoo in Iowa and summer school dates of June 6-24. Julie Tucker will be the coordinator for the summer program. The board also approved three virtual instruction providers, which included St. Joseph Virtual, Launch and the Grundy County Virtual Cooperative.
Meal prices for 2022-23 were set during the meeting. Breakfast prices will be K-6, $1.80; 7-12, $1.90; adult, $2.40; reduced, 30 cents; and extra milk, 35 cents. Lunch prices will be K-6, $2.55; 7-12, $2.70; adult, $3.45; reduced, 40 cents; and extra milk, 35 cents.
Board members held discussions concerning legislative issues and a football cooperative with the Princeton R-5 School District.
Dr. McKinnis and Principal Kim Palmer reported that work continues on the district’s Comprehensive School Improvement Plan as well as the planning for the upcoming MAP and end-of-course exams. Dr. McKinnis told the board he attended the Missouri Association of School Administrators Conference last month and discussed some of what he had learned. He told the board that he attended a session on the “Paras to Professionals” program and will be introducing that program to interested paraprofessionals in the district. Dr. McKinnis said he is working on the Alternative Methods of Instruction application for the state and with Rob Koon to utilize the third round of the Emergency Connectivity Fund to purchase some updated Chromebooks and new laptops for the staff.
Dr. McKinnis is currently working through the National Archery in Schools Program to get some archery equipment for the district by utilizing a grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation that could hopefully be used in the district next year. He said he will begin meeting with the Salary and Insurance Committee this month to discuss potential raises for next year, with more information to be presented at the May meeting. He also noted that the state has begun data collection for the ESSER I and ESSER II funds, with that information to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education.
In her report, Ms. Palmer reported on several district activities that have taken place in the past month and said a professional development activity will take place on Monday, April 25 with staff to focus on intruder training, vaping education for staff and the Teacher Growth plans.
The next meeting of the N-H board is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11.
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