School board picks option for construction

At it’s Sept. 8 meeting, the El Dorado Springs R-II School Board picked an option to offer to voters on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The architect gave the board two options that basically had to do with the gym placement. The board chose the one with the new Middle School gym closer to the High School gym.

Supt. Mark Koca said, “We may look at putting some office space in that lobby and moving the High School office there so they are more central to the center of the action. We are thinking there is going to be a lot of space underneath this gym. We can’t afford to finish it right now. We thought maybe it would be a good idea to have them create the space then we could do the infill as money allows down the road.”

Q. Are you talking about a classroom under the gym?

Well, right now, just storage. We can’t afford a second elevator. There is not way to use a single elevator for both that space and where we need one now. We could use it for storage or for maintenance. Since they are going to create that space anyway, we figured we might as well use that space for something.

Q. You did go ahead with the elevator on the north end of the High School?

Yes.

Q. Is it going to be in line with the west hallway?

Just kind of around the corner from the west hallway right on the north end of the building.

In closed session the board approved Juli Savinske for 1/3 time as cheer coach.

Supt. Koca told the board enrollment is up from last year by 39 student to total enrollment of 1,186.

The board reviewed and approved as preented the annual Secretary of the Board report.

The board adoped the Special Education Compliance Plan as presented.

In is building and grounds report, Bob Cornell rep;orted Claud and Chuck have done a agood job of getting the football field back to looking good again after last years cut worm problem.

He said, “I feel we have one of the best looking high school stadiums around this area.”

He said that Dane Perry has done a really good job with all the drainage problems and with landscaping and the field and parking lot. Cornell said he heard a lot of good comments about how everything looked.

He said, “We still had enough space for probably another 75 cars. Now that people know there is that much parking over by the field, next game it will more than likely fill up.

In his High School report, Dave Hedrick said, “Want to let everyone know that we are going back to some old traditions with Homecoming. We are going to have most of the activities on Thursday, such as the parade ending downtown which will be followed by a bon-fire and pep rally at Fugate Motors.

The board approved 13 policy and regulation updates:

Our legislature has blessed us with many new regulations to comply with—here are the policy changes for this fall—most of which are directly the result of new laws.

Policy 2180 – Pledge of Allegiance – Mandatory Adoption – Amended to comply with new legislation requiring recitation of the Pledge every school day.

Policy 2526 – Constitution and American Civics Tests – New, Mandatory – New policy to comply with legislation requiring another graduation requirement: The American Civics Test. (For all students entering 9th grade after July 1, 2017).

Policy 2550 – Dual Credit Scholarships – New, Recommended Adoption – New policy complies with legislation which authorizes dual credit scholarships (subject to appropriations) of up to $500 toward the cost off dual credit courses and outlines the eligibility requirements for same.

Policy 2655 – Bullying – Mandatory – Amends existing Bullying policy per new legislation by adding a timeline for the investigation of bullying incidents and amends the existing reporting form to reflect this change.

Policy 2755 – Cardiovascular/Heimlich Training – New, Mandatory – New policy to comply with legislation requiring 30 minutes of CPR/Heimlich training for each HS student at least once during their HS career. Goes into effect with 17-18 school year.

Policy/Regulation 2785 – Student Suicide Awareness – New, Recommended, Mandatory after July 1, 2017 – New policy to comply with legislation requiring training for employees and students on actions and resources necessary to prevent suicide and to promote mutual wellbeing.

Policy 4121 – Notice of Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program – New, Mandatory – New policy to comply with legislation requiring that the district notify all employees of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program by June 30, 2017 and thereafter within 10 days of beginning service.

Policy 6271 – Instruction for Gifted and Talented Students – Mandatory – Amends policy to reflect legislative change prohibiting the designation of a student as “gifted” if they are participating in advanced placement courses or international baccalaureate courses.

Policy/Regulation 7131 – Design-Build Selection – New, Recommended – New policy to comply with legislation which would allow district to participate in the design-build method of construction and sets out the procedures necessary to utilize the design-build option.

Policy 7132 – Selection of Construction Manager at Risk – New, Recommended – New policy to comply with legislation that would allow district to engage services of a Construction Manager at Risk. (A construction manager who oversees a project and stands to profit if construction comes in under budget but will lose money if the project comes in over budgets.

Policy 7210 – Construction, Contract, Bidding and Awards – Recommended – Updated policy that clarifies the use of a Construction Manager at Risk as a viable option in the awarding of contract, bidding and payment.

Regulation 0242 – Nepotism, Conflict and Interest and Financial Disclosures – Mandatory – Amends current policy to require that the bi-annual adoption of this policy will now be filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission (have been doing this for 10+ years).

Regulation 4221 – Support Staff Duties, Schedules and Working Hours – Recommended – Puts into policy our current practice for dealing with Comp Time in lieu of overtime pay. (Doesn’t really change our practice, just adds it to the policy).