Friends,
It's been too long! I apologize. A few things have taken place that I wanted to share with ya'll that have impacted my timeliness. You'll recall, I used to be pretty quick at getting these updates up! The need and my desire to give our admin team, teachers, staff a lot of grace has a lot to do with me being a bit delayed and not pushing. Outcomes and improvement is critical---but I am a huge believer that in these days of a pandemic, it's my responsibility as a board member to step back, give space to those doing the day-to-day work and get out of the way. Additionally, in November, we added a household member to our home, a now 18-month old--and we've been adjusting and spending significant time together to ensure that we are working toward a strong family bond together. Now, to the stuff you actually care about. December's meeting's agenda and items can be found here. You'll see reports of evaluations of library/media, finances, and a new Kelly Services contract to adjust for the minimum wage increasing. We began conversations from a proposal letter of the City of Hallsville regarding our school resource officer. This comes after the district was informed that our SRO with the county was being taken back due to low deputy staffing at the county sheriff's office. The board agreed in December to keep moving forward with conversations. In January, this conversation continued with the district and city in detailed conversations around the contract and what it would look like. The SRO is a valuable resource for our students, community, and staff---but getting a new arrangement right is critical. I'm grateful to the City and our Chief for engaging and working with the district to work toward a solution. In January, we had an agenda placeholder for a contract but that contract was not finalized by the meeting and did not take place. In December, we were given a report on the Community Survey. This survey identified top three facility needs from patrons: (1) replace south wing of Middle school, (2) install second set of secure entrance doors at the high school, middle school, and intermediate school, and (3) install a turf field at the football stadium--which is interesting because it was also listed as a top example of what should not be included in the plan. It's an interesting read and I encourage you to read this survey. This will be part of facilities conversations as the district moves forward to update its facilities master plan and continue planning toward a future bond initiative. In January, our agenda can be found here. we approved the school climate survey, e-Rate FY22 projects, food service program evaluations, and a job description for the head of operations and facilities lead. I must say that the climate survey surprised me. In the time of a pandemic, I was thrilled to see that we didn't have a huge swing in any group surveyed. This is to be celebrated and directly attributed to how our teachers are treating these unprecedented times with families, how our admin team is working with and empowering their staff, and our parents/students also knowing and acknowledging the hard work of our district at all levels. I'm grateful for this and want to call it out. It's a big deal to me. I conclude by sharing my shout out and celebrations for the district. We have an incredible team of folks who we---the community---should be proud of and thank. Thank you to each of our staff at all levels. I'm proud to be a board member and appreciate our work in these unprecedented times. Our next regular meeting will be Feb. 17. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Until next time, 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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