The North Nodaway School Board Wednesday named extra duty positions, reorganized, and hired noncertified staff for the 2023-2024 school year.
Stan Alexander was sworn into the board. Vicki Riley was named Board President. Jennifer Clements was named Vice President and Missouri School Board Association Delegate, and Tiffany Whipple as Secretary and Treasurer.
The board accepted one resignation. Sami Jackson resigned as Head Junior High Girls Basketball Coach. She said in her resignation letter than with the extension of the junior high season, she felt she had not been able to give either team the quality time they deserved. Two years ago, the junior high girls squad made it into the Highway 275 Conference finals and North Nodaway had varsity and junior high games scheduled on the same night in different locations. Jackson will continue as Head Girls Basketball Coach.
The board approved the extra duty schedule for next year. Board members Cari Cline and Vicki Riley abstained. Named were Head Football (Johnny Silkett), Assistant Football (Kinser Corbett), Assistant JV Football (Michael McConkey), Athletic Director (Cody Jenkins), Head Volleyball (Cari Cline, volunteer), Assistant Volleyball (Jody Thompson), Co-Volleyball (MacKenzie Finney), Head Boys Basketball (Cody Jenkins), Head Girls Basketball (Sami Jackson), Assistant Boys Basketball (Prent Eaton), Assistant Girls Basketball (Madison Thompson), Junior High Girls Basketball (Michael McConkey), Junior High Boys Basketball (Cody Bix), Co-Baseball Coach (Cody Jenkins and Cody Bix), High School Track (Prent Eaton), Junior High Track (Kinser Corbett), Cross Country (Roger Johnson), High School Football and Basketball Cheer (Emily Limback), Junior High Cheer (Summer Beaty), and Flag (Emily Higgins).
Other extra duty positions named were Senior Class Sponsors (Heather Townsend, Michael McConkey, Roger Johnson), Junior Class Sponsors (Kinser Corbett, Emily Limback, Bethney Pedersen), High School Student Council (Bethney Pedersen), Middle School Student Council (Kristi Stricker), Yearbook (Emily Bix), School Paper (Tiffany Whipple), High School Play (Emily Bix, Bethney Pedersen), Instrumental and Vocal Music (Zoie Owings), FFA (Troy Nally), Middle School and High School Scholar Bowl (Emily Bix), 4th and 5th Grade Math (Tana Wymer), Weight Room (Cody Jenkins, Sami Jackson), FBLA (Emily Limback), National Honor Society (Emily Bix), Special Ed Coordinator (Ashley Marriott), District Test Coordinator (Prent Eaton), Elementary Student Council (Linda Russell), and History Day (Michael McConkey).
Volunteer class sponsors were named. Sophomore sponsors were Cody Bix, Prent Eaton, and Cindy Martin. Freshman sponsors were Emily Bix, Victor West, and Summer Beaty. 8th grade sponsor was Catherine Auffert, 7th grade was Cody Jenkins, and 6th grade was Stacey Meyer.
The board raised $1,020 to the certified salary base, 37 cents an hour to the non-certified base, and $1,500 to the Elementary Principal, Middle School/High School Principal, and Superintendent’s salaries. These votes were unanimous.
The board voted to approve the bus driver incentive pay increase of $2,000 for the upcoming school year. The Bus Driver Incentive is a bonus to bus drivers if they drive 95% of their morning and evening routes. This year, Superintendent Chris Turpin said that all the drivers were meeting that incentive. This year’s incentive is $1,500, and it will go to $2,000 next year with the board vote.
The board hired Zoie Owings as the long-term substitute for the K-12 music and band teacher, Kristi Stricker as the Middle School/High School Building Secretary, MacKenzie Finney as the Elementary Secretary, Lynette Berg as Head Cook, Chariza Gladman as Assistant Cook, Cristi Fountain as an assistant cook, Dustin Stringer, Ron Thompson, and Angie Titus as bus drivers, Kayla Baldwin as Preschool Teacher, Kasey Drummond, Vicki Heideman, Shai Barber, Stephanie DeLeon, and Emily Higgins as paraprofessionals, Shelley Combs as a paraprofessional/bus driver, Bo Hansen as maintenance supervisor, Teresa Thompson as Middle School/High School custodian, Jerald Everhart as Elementary Custodian, Nicki Herndon as Technology Director, Linda Russell as District School Nurse, Tiffany Whipple as District Bookkeeper, and Audrey Trimble as the long-term substitute teacher for third grade. All votes were unanimous except for the vote on Kristi Stricker as the Middle School/High School Building Secretary; Cari Cline abstained on that vote.
The board voted to switch health insurance plans to the Ozark School Benefits Association for the upcoming school year. A committee of teachers along with Mr. Johnson and Ms. Whipple looked into the plans and made the recommendation. The new plan would cost $6 a month more, but would lower deductibles from $6,500 to $5,000. The old plan added more copays to next year’s plan. The board voted to raise its share of the pay from $517 per month to $548 per month. The new plan has more in reserves, allowing it to pay more in claims. The new plan will charge based on healthcare costs in the region rather than a tier system.
The committee in charge of the state-mandated Comprehensive School Improvement Plan is in the process of finalizing it and the board will vote on it next month.
The lunch policy was changed in the Elementary Student Handbook. There will be no charging of breakfast or lunch after a student has accrued a bill of $30 or more. If this occurs, the student will need to bring their own breakfast or lunch or eat an alternative lunch until the bill has been paid. The alternative lunch will consist of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, milk, fruit, and vegetable. Students cannot charge seconds or extra milks without a positive account balance.
The board approved a Career Ladder plan for the upcoming school year. The state is appropriating a 60-40 cost share, although since schools are still responsible for retirement and benefits, Superintendent Chris Turpin said the share was closer to 50-50. Annual supplemental pay will include up to $1,000 for three years teaching experience, $2,000 for five years, and $3,000 for 10 years for full time certified teachers. Eligible teachers must complete 50 hours for Stage I, 75 hours for Stage II, and 100 hours for Stage III. At least 75% of those hours need to incorporate direct student tutoring. Priority must be given to students who are struggling based on data from state assessments and/or local assessments.
Eligible activities include activities performed out of the classroom that go above and beyond normal hours served in the classroom. Activities can include student tutoring (must represent at least 75% of any plan), student contact that doesn’t include tutoring, and planning.
Tutoring activities could include such things as ACT prep, End of Course and MAP prep, summer tutoring and credit recovery, spelling bee practice, Science Olympiad or other academic competitions, and summer camps. Student contact non-tutoring activities can include such things as Academic Tournaments, summer reading programs, helping with music concerts, assisting with academic meets, orientation programs, working Book Fair or track meets, or organizing things such as dances, trips to plays or concerts. Planning activities could include such things as committees, summer reading planning, professional development, some graduate level courses, spelling bee coordination, Book Fair Setup, contest practice and study guides, and creating enrichment activities for outside of the classroom.
The total cost to the district will be an estimated $21,000 if every eligible teacher were to participate. Based on current participants, there would be 16. If a teacher performs, say, 40 hours of eligible work under Career Ladder instead of 50, they would still be paid for the 40 hours. The board’s approval is contingent on continued legislative funding. Around 35 schools in the area are expected to adopt it for the upcoming school year.
The board voted to adopt the Nodaway County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazardous Mitigation Plan. This will allow the school to request SEMA or FEMA funds in the event of a natural disaster. Nodaway County is in the process of coming up with a new plan.
The board approved the Professional Development Calendar for the upcoming school year. Teachers in the elementary will learn how kids learn to read. Middle school and high school teachers will learn bullying prevention, deescalation strategies, and technology training. There will be nine in-service days for the teachers. Those involved in food service will have four professional development days.
The board approved 19 students for graduation on May 14th. This includes two who have already been approved for early graduation and who graduated in December. The students approved were Harley Adwell, Kelsey Barcus, Darron Bix, Sarah Chesnut, Jacquelyn Cline, Damian Dailey, Jeremiah Dobbins, Kade Emery, Braya McGinness, Samantha Morrow, Andrew Phillips, Bryson Putnam, Ellaina Renfro, Andrew Richards, Danielle Riedel, Riley Volner, Ryver Wolf, Andrew Wray, and Sarah Wray.
The school received a $45,000 grant from the state towards the preschool. $10,000 will be used towards two plumbing fixtures, toilets, and sinks, full spectrum lighting, and flooding. The rest will be used towards furniture, play stations, and toys for the new classroom. As part of accepting the grant, the school will accept up to 24 students. Normally, the grant is for startups, but since the school is in the process of expanding its preschool, it was eligible.
The board voted to keep substitute pay at $120 per day.
Elementary Principal Ashley Marriott reported that elementary enrollment was 15 for Pre-K and 98 for Kindergarten through 5th grade.
The elementary math team did well. All six students who competed placed in the top 15 in at least one tested area. There were 150 participants. Walk to School Day was held April 12th. The American Red Cross will come April 26th to teach students about emergency preparedness. Kindergarten Roundup will be held soon. As of April 6th, there were 10 registered for preschool and 17 for Kindergarten.
Middle School and High School Principal Roger Johnson reported that MAP tests will be held the week of April 25th to 27th and End of Course exams May 2nd to 4th. DARE Graduation will be May 5th. Sports physicals for grades 5 through 11 will be May 11th. Incoming sixth graders are now allowed to participate in MSHSAA activities with parental permission. All athletes planning to participate in MSHSAA athletic next year must have a completed physical and insurance verification on file with the school before they can compete or practice.
Prom will be April 29th at Denric Hall. The theme will be, “Enchanted Forest,” with the Grand March at 6:30 pm. Fine Arts Night will be May 3rd with the art show starting at 5:30 pm. Scholarship Night will be following the art show and music concert. The FFA Banquet will be April 26th. The High School Play was held Friday and Sunday.
Scholarship Night for the seniors will be May 3rd. Baccalaureate will be May 7th. Senior Trip will be May 8th to 11th. Last day for Seniors will be May 12th. Graduation will be May 14th at 3 pm.
The FFA hosted a successful Ag Competition at North Nodaway March 27th. There were 20 schools and 320 students participating.
Superintendent Chris Turpin reported that the school is in the process of seeking out a school purification grant. This will allow the school to put air purifiers in all classrooms and closed common spaces. This will help prevent kids from getting sick. The school is in the process of seeking a safety and security grant, which will allow the school to implement keyless access and safety film for the windows and doors.
The recent hailstorm did damage to both the facilities and school buses. The school is working on claims with MUSIC, its insurance provider.
The elevator shaft for the High School is being built. The bus barn is getting the floor prepared for concrete, and the elementary is getting roofing, electricity, and water.
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