Capital Projects, Bond Update, Tweaking Classified Schedules, Extending Superintendent's contact11/20/2018 When looking at the November school board agenda, I wondered how the meeting would flow. It was a pretty quick evening--with questions from board members answered by administration ahead of time, answering questions in writing in preparation for the meeting.
This month, we approved some capital-type projects for student activities: a resurfacing of the softball field and relamping of both baseball and softball to increase safety and lighting concerns. While I'm discussing student activities, we also voted to re-instate (officially) high school golf and begin middle school wrestling. During the last few months, the board has heard some discussion from community members around the Mulnix building. The building is being used for maintenance storage in addition to the portion that wrestling is currently utilizing. The district is grateful for the supporters of the wrestling program for their donations and work to create that space to be workable. It's also very important for the community to remember that wrestling will likely not be the only sport or activity to utilize this space as time continues. It was not purchased to be solely and exclusively wrestling space, but this space does accomplish what the board was looking for: a better location than daily put-up and tear-down in the primary building where little-kids are. Does this mean the mats will be down forever in the Mulnix building and never have to be taken up for other activities or sports to utilize this space? No. I recognize that there is tension in the community here and appreciate the wrestling and other activity working for what's best for all children in the district, not just one particular activity. The board knew, when we approved the move from contractual work to in-house custodial/maintenance crews, that we would both have some capital expenditures and growth areas. The district has been without a reliable vehicle for maintenance, and approved the purchase of a Chevrolet pickup truck to be purchased. This was purchased at the government rate, approximately $10,000 off the MSRP. This will prove valuable as maintenance continues to do more skilled items around the campus, but will also allow for the district to better serve the safety of our children by allowing for us to do our own snow/ice removal and many other items. This also will prevent the district from paying mileage/utilizing personal employees vehicles. This will be paid from the capital expense fund, which has been growing by more than $100,000 per year, and will (even after this purchase) still project a yearly surplus of more than $50,000 added to the cumulative in that account, totaling more than $400,000. All of that to say, this purchase is needed, we have the funds in the account which is meant for purchases like this. One of the growth areas is ensuring that we are competitive in wages for our maintenance crew. We had a brief discussion and approve a minor change the that would allow for maintenance workers to be considered a "level 4" on the scale. We anticipate minimal fiscal impact this year on the change. From a bond-perspective, Ada and Mr. Downs put together a spending-document to show exactly what has been spent from the $7 million bond as approved by the voters. That document can be found here, and will be updated monthly for the board. This document is intended to help with the transparency of how the funds are spent. The board also expects to be open and transparent with the bidding process as we move forward, as well. I hope you've all seen the updated website where we are tracking bonding updates. As always, I encourage you to read the "District Reports." There are some really good nuggets like how many guests came to the Halloween parade at the Primary building or a whole bunch of awesome student and staff recognitions. at the across the district. There's even information about how last year, our Hallsville students saw significant improvement and even performed better than the rest of the state on the ACT tests! In closed session, the board approved a contract extension for Mr. Downs as our superintendent. His previous contract was set to expire on June 30, 2019. We approved a two-year extension, through June 30, 2021. Mr. Downs has guided our district back to financial stability, worked to build trust in the passage of our bond and tax levy increase, and is passionate about continued curriculum and classroom improvements. We're moving in the right direction, and I am confident in the direction of our district. Like always, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 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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