The Mount Vernon R-V Board of Education held its regular meeting on Thursday, July 20. Below are some items of interest:
Stacie Scrivner was sworn in as the newest member of the Mount Vernon School Board.
- Mrs. Scrivner was selected by the Board in June to serve out the remainder of John Rutledge’s term which expires in the spring of 2024.
- The Board and Administration are excited to welcome Stacie to the District and look forward to adding her perspective to the decision-making process.
The Board voted to schedule the Annual Tax Levy Hearing for Thursday, August 17 at 7 PM just prior to the Regular Meeting scheduled for that date.
A report was given on Average Daily Attendance for the 2022-2023 school year.
- ADA for 22-23 was 1,347 which was an increase of 30 students from the 21-22 school year.
- In fact, District ADA was at its highest point since the 2011-2012 school year.
Mrs. West gave an informational presentation on an exciting new program starting this year at the ELC and Elementary School.
- Five years ago in 2018, the District submitted a request to obtain a Therapy Dog for use in our Elementary.
- We received word this spring that our District’s opportunity to receive a Therapy Dog had arrived and, to our surprise, we were actually receiving two dogs which will be in our buildings this August.
- These highly trained dogs will be the property of the District but will be cared for by assigned staff members at these two campuses.
- These staff members, as well as other staff members in each building, will be receiving training to supervise the animals as well as utilize the program to its full potential.
- Research has shown the use of Therapy Dogs to be highly beneficial in helping student behavior, engagement and motivation as well as promoting a positive culture in the school community.
- The District is excited to be chosen for this program and anxiously awaiting the arrival of these new Mountaineers!
The Board approved changes to Board Policies GCBDA and GDBDA which govern short-term leaves for both professional and support staff.
- Under the current policies, all staff receive ten sick days at the beginning of each year.
- Two of the sick of these sick days may be converted to Personal Leave.
- A third sick day can be converted to a personal day “for any reason that is deemed an emergency by the Superintendent, but is not covered under the emergency leave policy.”
- The proposal approved by the Board was to alter the policy as follows:
- Retain the number of short-term, sick leave days at 10.
- Allow for the conversion of up to 5 days of sick leave into personal leave each year.
- Any unused leave will continue to revert to sick days and be carried over to the following year.
- In order to avoid mass absences on specific days, the following provisions were also approved:
- Staff members may not use multiple personal days consecutively during student attendance days for the purposes of taking vacation.
- Staff members may not use personal days in conjunction with a scheduled holiday for the purposes of lengthening a vacation period.
- As always, as special circumstances occur, there may be exceptions to the policy with prior approval from building-level and district-level administration.
The Board was updated on three major maintenance projects occurring this summer (see attached pictures).
- Two projects have been completed.
- The Track at Mountaineer Stadium was repaired and resurfaced in late June in response to some significant wear and tear at the 11 year old facility.
- A new Through-Wall was completed at the northeast corner of the Elementary School.
- This project was completed in response to significant issues of water coming in through the walls in that area causing damage to the Media Center at MVES.
- The Through-Wall is designed to divert moisture away from the interior of the building as heavy rains occur.
- Still to come is a replacement of the west parking lot at the Intermediate School and a significant repair of the north parking lot at the Intermediate School.
- This work is scheduled to be completed prior to the beginning of school.
The Board approved meal prices for the 2023-2024 school year.
- The District is required by law to increase meal prices to avoid profiting from the Federal Food Subsidy Program.
- Meal prices will increase by $0.05 for all meals at every campus this year.
- Prices for the 23-24 school year will be as follows:
2023-2024
Breakfast $1.90
Adult Breakfast $2.55
K-5 Lunch $2.35
6-8 Lunch $2.55
9-12 Lunch $2.55
Adult Lunch $3.25
Event admission prices were kept the same for the 12th year in a row at $4 for High School events and $3 for Middle School.
In Closed Executive Session:
The Board voted to release Tonya Brady from her contract as an English Language Arts teacher at the High School
- Mrs. Brady joined the District in August of 2022 and has accepted a position at Springfield Catholic High School.
The Board approved the following hires:
James Simons for the position of Assistant Technology Director.
- Mr. Simons is currently the Information and Technology Manager at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield.
- Mr. Simons will not be able to join the District until January as he works towards retirement from his current position.
- This is to replace Marc Eilenstein who announced his retirement in June.
- Although we are very excited to add someone with Mr. Simon’s experience and expertise to our Technology Department, Mr. Stipp will be short-handed during the first semester.
- Mr. Simons will have limited availability to assist Mr. Stipp during this period of time, but our Technology Department will be stretched very thin until he joins us full-time in January.
- We would ask for patience and understanding as Mr. Stipp works to fulfill work orders during that time period.
Lesa Garringer for a vacant Custodial Position at the Elementary School.
- Mrs. Garringer most recently worked at INS Nutra and also has custodial experience at Schreiber’s and the Missouri Veterans’ Home.
Emily Kerr for a vacant Special Education Paraprofessional Position at the Elementary School.
- Mrs. Kerr brings experience as a Paraprofessional at MRLC in Monett.
Kristen Wecker for a vacant Special Education Paraprofessional Position at the Elementary School.
- Mrs. Wecker brings experience as a foster parent as well as two years’ experience at the Step by Step Daycare in Mount Vernon.
Emma Wiese for a vacant Special Education Paraprofessional Position at the Elementary School.
- Mrs. Wiese brings experience as a Paraprofessional in Springfield Public Schools as well as similar experience at the Mount Vernon Head Start.
Jeremy Braun as a Volunteer Assistant Football Coach.
- Mr. Braun is in college with a goal of becoming an educator/coach.
The next scheduled meeting of the Mount Vernon R-V Board of Education will be Thursday, August 17 at 7 PM in the District Office Board Room.