On Monday, our Hallsville school board met for what was the shortest meeting in a good while. Whew. It's been a whirlwind. Mrs. Minor posted the district report with important information in it.
I'm going to expand on a few topics and focus my blog on the Evaluation of Facilities and Grounds and the Technology Purchases. Before I do that, I want to send a shout-out to our recognition this month, which were Forrest and Casey from our Transportation Department. Our buses passed with a 95% on the MSHP inspections. This is an improvement from last year and highlights the dedication that them and their team have for the safety in transporting our children. There are other student and faculty recognitions in the District Reports that are awesome to read every month. First is the Evaluation of Facilities and Grounds. We had some lengthy discussion around the need to ensure we invest in maintaining our facilities. The board recognizes and I think it's fair to say is still very concerned with the quality of the work of OPS. It is disappointing that our contract amount for them is the same, regardless if they are short-staffed or not. I can't speak for the full board, but I look forward to the hiring and prioritization of the Director of Operations to take a hard look at how to either improve the quality or begin the process of taking this back over. Consistent teacher and administrator complaints continue. Unfortunately, this change takes time, patience, and remains frustrating. Those in the buildings can point to things like this, but at the candidate forum last week, I used the restrooms in the Intermediate Commons. The urinal barely flushed and only after pushing on the handle incredibly hard (hello--I'm an adult that tries to workout 5-6 days per week!). In addition, going to wash my hands, the first sink wouldn't work. The second sink worked, but the handle was super loose and so I a slight turn made water gush and splash everywhere. I had a legitimate fear that it splashed enough to make it look like I wet myself. Then the hand dryer. It was unusually difficult to even keep my hands in the right place because the sensor couldn't sense my hands! When it worked, it was......very....slow...... And that's just one bathroom. Maintenance. Matters. As a board, we need to make sure we watch for and maintain funds for our building maintenance. When I worked at the University, I continually saw the maintenance backlog continue to build. Funds are tight, but having a quality learning environment is so important for the success and morale of our students and staff. Some good news! As long as the weather cooperates next week, we will be having pavement repairs across campus take place. We approved this bid last month and we hope and expect this to make a difference in the appearance of our campus. Later in our meeting, we discussed the Technology Program Evaluation. As a part of the tax levy increase that voters approved last year, the board added $80,000 back into the technology budget for the first time in at least a few years. You can see in the Technology Purchases agenda item, all of these purchases. The Technology Committee prioritized more than $250,000 in technology requests. The district prioritized projects that included presentation displays for classrooms in addition to strategically placing the purchase of 34 computers. For example, we will be adding 6 machines to the middle school library so they will have enough computers for all students in each class. Others will be replacing or adding machines in classrooms who have obsolete or fewer machines than other classes. Also included in these purchases are some infrastructure items for the network. This is a start and I hope and expect that in next year's budget, we can continue this. A few random items from the District Reports: 1) The Board will be presented with a draft/preliminary budget for next year at our April meeting. 2) Jacob Harmon submitted a written report as our student representative and is included in it. Jacob and a cohort of student will be examining and discussing the results of a few items in the Climate Survey -- specifically working to address the question that scored the lowest which was: "Students at this school respect others who are different from each other." I recognize the problem with this question is likely a broader societal issue. We live next to people similar to us. We are friends with people similar to us. We stay in our bubbles and don't venture into awkward/unknown territory. However, if we can begin to figure out how to address or change this mentality among our students -- maybe we can raise a generation that will be different from ours -- a generation that respects and appreciates differences. Technology has only made this problem more difficult, but as a small community, I think if we work together, we can make progress here. One last topic: VOTE YES ON PROP 2 ON APRIL 3rd! I'm excited about what this will do for our district and look forward to this (hopefully) passing. I've fielded a few questions about this issue in person and on social media. If you have any questions, I'm easily reachable and am happy to discuss any questions you may have. This will not increase your taxes at all. I will conclude by saying/shouting out a huge "THANK YOU" to those who have been serving, meeting, and working on Prop 2 in our community. This group of people has included teachers, parents, staff, citizens, and administrators. I'm grateful for this 'above and beyond' volunteering that they have done. This solid group of people also are dedicating their weekends in order to canvass. We have so many dedicated people for this effort and I'm thankful for their work on behalf of the district!
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AuthorHallsville resident. Foster Parent. School board member. Politico. Jesus Follower. Cardinals Fan #MizzouMade Archives
June 2020
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