Secondary Principal Dale Healy reported on the progress of the school's policy on zeros at the Worth County School Board Meeting last Thursday. Students at Worth County must make up any work in which they get a zero or perform zero quality work in special study halls designed for the purpose. Healy reported that after the policy was implemented last spring, the number of D+ or lower grades dropped by 35%. Now, the school will e-mail parents whose children get zeros, which Healy said will create more parent-school interventions for students who need it.
Teachers Todd Simmons and Tish Warner reported on the work that they were doing with their students. Simmons reported on some of the testing that he did on students in his Physical Education Classes. Warner reported on the way she was teaching students to recognize the difference between observations and inferences. Among other things she was doing included having the students write obituaries about her based on objects that she brought from home and having the class use the "whole class inquiry method." This method involves the teacher giving the class a project and then having the whole class work on the project with as little teacher direction as possible.
The board voted to set the tax levy at $3.52, of which 28 cents will go into Fund 2.
The student balances were zeroed out from the previous school year. Board member Jeff Andrews said that it would be a good idea to figure out ways for the school to break even or make a profit on athletics. Possibilities would include cutting supplies or having an activity fee for participation, none of which the board wanted to do. Another alternative was raising the price of admission. The Tiger Club donates money for uniforms, but there is no corporate sponsorship; that was looked at as another possibility. Some schools set up their gyms as places for community activities and then charge for them. Superintendent Matt Robinson said that there used to be good money from Coke or Pepsi for such programs, but that they had cut back since schools had started restricting the use of vending machines during school hours.
The board voted to go into closed session to hire some substitute teachers and some athletics assistants. The board voted to add Gidget Funk, Jerry Hynes, Elisa Houts, Katie Hayes, and Judy Hayes to the substitute teacher list. The board also voted to hire Adam Beatty as assistant junior high softball coach for the 2009-2010 school year. The board also voted to approve Todd Simmons as volunteer junior high assistant coach and Andy Ross as volunteer assistant football coach.
Elementary Principal Nancy Lewis reported that 17 families and 64 total people attended the Kindergarten Picnic at the Pool Park to meet the students and their families and for the families to meet each other on August 7th. Lewis attended the Back to School Fair on the 7th as well. She reported on the numbers of students attending elementary; Mary Chapman will be teaching 23 kindergarten students and will have an aide. Dianne Koehler and Patty Lischer will teach 24 first graders; each will have 12. The school will have two new first graders this year. Jackie Findley will have 15 second graders and Vonda Runde 16; there will be one new second grade student. Jodi Lawrence will teach 26 third graders and Selina O'Connor will be in third grade part time. There will be one new third grade student. Janet Kinsella will teach 15 fourth graders while Leena Hightshoe will have 16; there is one new fourth grader this year. Ginny Quick will have 13 fifth graders while Farrah Richey will have 12. Kelley Ross will have 14 sixth graders while Trisha Ross will have 13.
The board approved a resolution approving the bylaws for Midwest Public Risk of Missouri, formerly MARCIT, which insures the school's group health policy. Passage of the resolution was required for continued participation in the plan. The school switched to the plan as a means of controlling what they saw as growing health insurance costs; switching to a group plan would minimize the risks for the insurance company due to the larger pool to insure from. The company changed its name in order to emphasize the regional nature of its business; it has recently moved into Kansas and gotten its license to do business there.
The board adopted a code of ethics governing conflicts of interest by board members. The policy states that the proper operation of government requires that public officials and employees be "independent," "impartial," and "responsible to the people." It requires elected and appointed officials to comply with Missouri law regarding conflicts of interest and requires disclosure of "substantial or private interests" in measures, bills, orders, or ordinances that are proposed or pending before the school board. The policy sets forth requirements on how members must disclose conflicts of interest and when they are required to file such conflicts.
The board adopted a transportation plan for the new school year. The transportation plan states that students who live beyond 1/2 mile from the school will be transported at district expense. Students living one mile of more will be transported at district expense with approximately /46 of the cost reimbursed by the state. Stops will be designated in towns for pickups; Grant City students who live east of Main Street, west of Highway 169, south of Highway 46, and whose homes border Main Street will not be transported.
A new change this year is that all motorists are now required to stop at the south end of East Avenue. At the request of Superintendent Matt Robinson, the city put up the stop sign; Robinson cited safety concerns, saying that there had been too many near-misses at that intersection. Motorists are also required to stop at the crosswalk in front of the school if a pedestrian is attempting to cross the street.
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