August's Board of Education meeting was quick---perhaps one of the quickest meetings since I joined the board in April 2017. I participated virtually, via Facetime, due to a work event in Kansas City earlier in the afternoon.
The agenda can be found here. In a nutshell, the highlights can be found in the district reports. We also approved the tax rate for the year, which will remain unchanged from last year. A quick note on those of you who follow (as you should!) the district financial report. Since this was the start of the year--there are higher expenditures than on a typical month. That, coupled with the need to purchase some capital expenses for the maintenance/cleaning team as a part of absorbing and not contracting that out---some of our expenses were higher than you normally see. You'll also (for full disclosure) see a $300 reimbursement check for me in the expenses. This is a reimbursement of the MSBA (Missouri School Board Association) annual meeting registration cost. I'm our district representative and will be attending the MSBA annual meeting in late September. I wanted to provide some color and updates into other activities that I've had the opportunity to participate in around the district. First, the bond initiative that was approved in April (2018). This is a slow-moving process, but we hope to see some movement in the coming few weeks. We are in what we hope to be final stages of negotiations between our architectural firm and our construction manager at-risk firm. If negotiations are complete before our next regularly scheduled meeting, the board will likely have a special meeting to finalize these contracts. What does that mean? Upon finalizing these agreements, the architectural firm will begin the in-depth creation of building and planning documents. I've discussed the board's decision to move toward a having a construction manager at-risk in previous blogs. This will allow the board (and public) to see subcontractor bids, have a presence and advocate in the building process, and provides an additional layer of oversight/support that we would not have under the design-bid-build traditional way of selecting a general contractor. The board will also have a standing agenda item---like school safety--for the "construction update" on each board meeting going forward. I'm excited about the Hallsville Public School Foundation being up and running. The Foundation board had a presence at the Meet the Teacher nights---to begin to raise awareness. The Foundation is finalizing its 501(c)3 application (so donations are not yet tax deductible). However, since the Foundation is doing a soft-launch this fall to provide support to our district this academic year. I would urge each of you to join me in a small donation to provide seed funds. You may donate online here and you can learn more about the Foundation's mission and goals here. One of the lessons that I've noticed since being on the school board is an elevated since of sensitivity and wanting to defend our students, faculty, staff, admin team, and the district's integrity at times. Yesterday, I allowed myself to get sucked-in (by reading) the comment section of a Facebook feed on a recent news story's post. Reading the comments made me disheartened at the level of angry under/overtones, assumptions, implied accusations, and inflammatory statements against each other (either individually or directed at the school). A friend reminded me that I needed to be the light in the darkness of these types of comments. I'll just end by saying that in any emotional situation we find ourselves in---we all (me included!) can benefit from starting from a place of grace and a desire to understand a variety of perspectives on each situation. At the risk of getting too preachy, I invite you to join me in trying a little harder to be the light when feeling like you are being surrounded by darkness. I'm humbled and honored to serve as one of the seven members of your school board. If I can be helpful, don't hesitate to reach out. Until next time, thanks for reading! Craig
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AuthorHallsville resident. Foster Parent. School board member. Politico. Jesus Follower. Cardinals Fan #MizzouMade Archives
June 2020
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