This month's
Board of
Education meeting took place on October 20. After the Pledge of Allegiance was recited and the agenda adopted, the consent agenda (
see details on BoardDocs) was approved. An update from MSBA was viewed as well (
click HERE to watch).
Mr. Tyler Overstreet and Mrs. Michelle Wityk, RHS principal and assistant principal, presented regarding the building's progress after implementing WIN Time (What's Important Now). To learn more about WIN Time visit
http://www.republicschools.org/wintime.
Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Matt Pearce shared results of district state assessments. Superintendent of Schools, Chance Wistrom presented
his monthly report which focused on enrollment, attendance and finance. His report and all district administrative reports can be found on
BoardDocs
.
The
Board of
Education discussed several policies, and also reappointed Mr. Cantrell and Mr. Wistrom as representatives to serve on the Springfield Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Commission which will consider potential action related to the Springfield Plaza TIF. Springfield Plaza, LLC owns 100 acres surrounding the Walmart located at Sunshine and West Bypass.
In addition, the Board discussed a potential cost share agreement that the district has been approached about by MoDOT to construct a "round about" at the M Hwy entrance of Republic High School. The agreement would be between the City of Republic, MoDOT and the Republic School District. It is projected that the district would be credited $35,300 for the land contribution that the project would require, and the remaining cost would be approximately $78,870. The district and Board of Education feel the addition of a "round about" would increase student, employee and community safety near RHS.
The district presented the Board of Education feedback that had been received in regards to the potential activity facility at Republic High School. 89 texts and written responses were collected of which approximately 90% were positive and in favor of the district moving forward with the project. The district did receive valid questions and concerns regarding two main areas, addressed below:
Lack of gymnasium at Schofield Elementary:
Currently students at Schofield Elementary utilize the gymnasium at McCulloch Elementary (directly across the street) for PE. The district has been working on plans to apply for a FEMA grant that would provide a 75/25 cost share for a new gymnasium at Schofield that would also serve as a tornado shelter for students at Schofield, Price and McCulloch (much like the FEMA safe room at Sweeny Elementary). At this time the district has provided a Notice of Intent and Application for Consideration to FEMA. Although a specific timeline is unknown at this point due to the grant process required, the district's goal is to obtain funds though FEMA to meet this need.
Roofing issues/leaks across the district:
Over the last 30 days all of our buildings (with the exception of RHS, which is being completed this week) have undergone a comprehensive roofing inspection by a professional roofing organization.
During the inspection process many leak issues were able to be addressed immediately, on site. Many of the leaks that were immediately fixed included those from unsealed flashings, seam repair needs and loosened fasteners from typical weather wear. For those roofing issues that still need to be addressed, a full roofing plan is being created by those professionals who completed the comprehensive roofing inspection. We expect to have those results to us in the coming months which will enable us to then determine a specific timeline to address remaining roofing needs utilizing funds that have already been earmarked for such projects.
After reviewing the feedback, the Board of Education asked Mr. Wistrom to move forward with drafting ballot language for a no tax levy increase bond issue that will be on the April 4, 2017 ballot.
The Board also reviewed the draft 2017-18 school calendar proposed by the TASK committee.
Several Board policies were approved, and can be found on
BoardDocs. As mentioned above, Mr. Cantrell and Mr. Wistrom were appointed as representatives for the Springfield TIF Committee. The final action item was the approval of an architectural agreement with H Design effective for any projects through September 20, 2017 and is subject to renewal for four consecutive one-year periods.
The next regular meeting will take place on November 17 with open session beginning at
7:00 p.m.
