Sheldon school board hears enrollment is up

Friday, September 14, 2018

Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Sheldon R-8 School Board discussed asking staff about a four-day schedule, authorized the superintendent to look for a second vehicle and heard welcome news about enrollment.

“If I recall correctly, we ended last year with an enrollment of 176 and today our K to 12 (Kindergarten through grade 12) enrollment is 186,” said R-8 Superintendent Jason Irwin.

Five of the seven board members were on-hand for the meeting; Bill Nance and Paul Sprenkle were absent.

While the agenda was brief the item which generated the most discussion during the 70-minute meeting was the topic of a four-day school week.

Looking first at board member Jerod Lamb and then around the table, Irwin said, “I know Jerod you mentioned the option of a four-day school week before and what I want to know from all of you is if you guys want me to explore this or not?”

According to requirements by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, if test scores drop as a result of moving to a four-day week, the district is required to go back to a 5-day week.

Asked by board member Gene Leininger which day to take off Irwin answered, “Everyone I know takes off Monday.”

Lamb and fellow board member Michelle Claflin asked how many districts have gone to the four-day schedule and which in the area have done so.

Irwin said there are over 30 in the state with Lathrop being the first; he also named Stockton, Jasper and Miller.

The superintendent said the obvious advantage is the financial savings from operating buses and providing fewer meals though he quickly added there are a few students for whom that breakfast and lunch is very important.

Said Irwin, “Our whole purpose is education and this would mean you’ve have less days to work with kids who are having any trouble with a concept.”

To make this work, the superintendent said the first through seventh periods would be expanded to 55-minutes each, an addition of five minutes while eighth-hour would remain 55-minutes as it is now.

He reminded the board that starting next year DESE will measure the minimum school year as being 1,044 hours.

Irwin interrupted his description of a school calendar saying, “By the way, getting out in early May is a real killer. Between testing, concerts, sports and all the stuff you have to get done it’s just too much on our staff, students and their families.”

The superintendent would prefer to set a day which does not change each year such as the third Friday or second Saturday.

“Amen, I agree,” said Lamb.

Irwin’s sample four-day week calendar for the 2019-2020 school year begins on Aug. 13, 2019, includes a full-week for Spring Break and ends on May 22 with 150 school days versus this year’s 163 for a total of 1,050 academic hours.

Non-certified staff would work four 10-hours days while certified staff would have one professional development day per month on a Monday.

Said Claflin, “Before we go any further, I think you need to talk to your teachers and other staff.”

“If we don’t have staff buy-in, I don’t want to go any further with this,” responded Irwin.

Without taking a formal vote, the board asked Irwin to poll the staff and report back their thoughts and concerns at the October board meeting.

In his facilities report, Irwin reported a new roof leak in the gym, repairs to several air conditioner units and the Parent Teachers Organization having purchased a new water fountain to be placed in the hallway of grades four through six.

A mention by Irwin of using his personal weed eater at school led Jerod Lamb to encourage him to check on prices for a weed eater and leaf blower.

On a vote of 5-0, the board set out-of-district tuition rates at $6,300 per year or $700 per month.

Reflecting new state laws, the board’s packet included 19 new policies and regulations for approval.

Referring to the policy on prevailing wage, Irwin noted, “For projects that are $75,000 or less, prevailing wage requirements will not be required; that’s good news for smaller districts such as ours.”

Other policies and regulations of note include one on collective bargaining which requires annual written authorization by employees for dues deductions and another which further defines and extends whistleblower-protections for district employees and volunteers.

A single motion for the adoption of all 19 was approved 5-0.

At a previous board meeting, Irwin had told the board of having attended a meeting where author and speaker, Phil Chalmers, made a presentation.

“As I told you at that time, from his interviews and research, he was able to show a connection between video games and the lyrics of some songs to various teen shootings and he has a great way of talking about bullying, drugs and self-worth.”

Chalmers is set to speak at the Feb. 4 conference professional development day at Bronaugh “and I’ve spoken with Tom Geeding, a school counselor in Nevada, to try to get him to speak there.”

On Thursday, Geeding said conversations have been held but a contract has yet to be signed.

Bringing up the topic of transportation, Board member Lamb said he was glad the district had purchased the mini-van but said a second vehicle was needed.

Said Lamb, “You’ve got a total of ten students plus one coach in the football co-op program with Stockton and the mini-van can only handle six. In the fall and the spring you’ve got multiple groups needing to be transported; I say you really need to get a second vehicle.”

Board members agreed and directed Irwin to look at vans, mini-vans and SUVs to see what is available.

Irwin relayed the senior class’s desire for graduation to be held on Fri., May 10 but the board voted 5-0 to approve a motion by Lamb and seconded by Claflin to set the date on Sun., May 10 with the baccalaureate service on Wed., May 8.

Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Devin White said the junior varsity football record is 2-0 and “although the varsity record is 0-3, all three touchdowns scored by Stockton have been by Sheldon players.”

Principal Carolyn Compton reported overall attendance is 96.03 percent but high school attendance is 94.43 percent.

Said White, “Once I get the list of absentees, I’m calling every kid that’s gone and I’m doing that every day. With nine out of 10 of them I get no answer so I leave a message. But they can’t learn if they’re not here.”

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