The Mount Vernon R-V Board of Education held a Regular Meeting on Thursday, April 17. Below are some items of interest:
The Board voted to approve the results of the April General Municipal Election held on April 8.
- Proposition PAC was approved by voters with 761 (68.18%) in favor and 355 (31.82%).
Kerry Hodgson and Nathan Schoen were elected to three year terms expiring in the spring of 2028.
The newly re-elected members were administered the oath of office and the Board elected the slate of officers below:
President Danny Bowling
Vice President Nathan Schoen
Secretary Brian Parrish
Treasurer Jeremy Pendleton
Assistant Treasurer Kerry Hodgson
MSBA Delegate Kerry Hodgson
MSBA Alternate Delegate Stacie Scrivner
The Board recognized the MV-MVP honorees for the month of April.
MVHS and MVMS Vocal Music Teacher April McBaine was the MV-MVP recipient for the month of April. Below is a portion of her nomination:
Not only does Mrs. McBaine take special attention to ensure that her students are set up for success in their performances, she also makes sure their well-being is accounted for. She is the first to ask “how are you” or “are you okay?” to both her students and also her peers on any given day or situation. She always has a smile on her face and is consistently positive, no matter the challenges she faces. She does such an excellent job with Mt. Vernon’s choir program and has even added more to her plate this year adding a Show Choir at the Middle School level, which has created a wonderful outlet for our Mt. Vernon 6-8 graders.
Anyone interacting with April will notice her positivity, laugh, and smile. She is always looking on the upside in difficult situations and faces challenges with her optimistic viewpoint. She balances so many different classes, grade levels, and ensembles, and all of her classes are full of students who adore her and love having her as one of their teachers.
April works incredibly well with the Fine Arts department, working to juggle the shared students so they are able to participate in all the activities they want.
Congratulations to Mrs. McBaine! Thank you for your dedication to the students of Mount Vernon!
The average, seated, daily attendance for March was 1341.31 and the overall attendance percentage was 93.73%.
- This represented the highest seated ADA in March since 2011 and was an increase of 21.75 from February.
The Board heard patron input regarding a bus accident occurring on April 10.
- The District has identified aspects of the response to this incident that could be better implemented in the future and will work with First Student to ensure better protocols moving forward.
The Board heard feedback from the very first Mountaineer Swimming Competitor.
- Olivia Jones was competining in a track meet and was unable to be present in person.
- However, she submitted the letter below recapping her season:
Mount Vernon Board of Education and Admin staff, as many of you may know, my name is Olivia Jones. I am a junior at MVHS and am proud to stand here being the first official Mount Vernon Swimmer. I would like to first thank you for voting earlier in the year that made one of my dreams become a reality. I am so very grateful to have this unique and exciting experience. One that has not only challenged me as an athlete but also allowed me to see the life lessons of perseverance, grit, sacrifice, and most importantly leadership.
I have been swimming for 11 years. When I first started, I really had no idea this is where I would end up. So far this year my season consisted of about 13 meets. I competed in 100 back, 100 fly, 50 free, and 200 IM.
Along with the Monett swim team and Monett swim coaches...my coaches were of great impact on my development. I am incredibly grateful to Coach Earnest and Coach Jaocb; their belief in me, even when I wasn't in the best mood or wasn't always motivated, they always knew how to put a smile on my face and pushed me to be better. I appreciate what they tried to push me to become.
We live in a great town and community. I am so very thankful to be a mountaineer. There were countless times I was asked about my season and or congratulated on being the first in school history. It really was just amazing to see how much people in and out of the school really cared about their students. I am thankful to call Mount Vernon home and would like to thank all the other HS students, staff and community who helped make it special for me.
I would like to thank my family for their support throughout this experience. Their love and encouragement were crucial in helping me stay focused and motivated. They celebrated my victories and stood by me through the challenges, reminding me that success is not always measured by the number of people beside you but by the strength within you.
I am incredibly thankful to the Mt.Vernon community, the coaches, and everyone who believed in me and gave me the opportunity to prove myself. I hope to be given his opportunity next year to improve more and continue representing Mt.Vernon in the swim world. I would also like to thank coach Beckner. He has been a huge part in this. He knew how much this meant to me and did everything he could to make this happen and that means so much to me. I hope to always set a good example and to be an inspiration to the young athletes at Mt. Vernon. This experience has been a true honor, and I am forever grateful for the chance to swim for Mt. Vernon. Thank you.
Jason Brushwood and other representatives from Veregy provided an update on the design phase for new construction tied to the approval of Proposition PAC.
- Plan design is nearly 60% complete with a goal to have full plans in place by late May.
- The District, Veregy, and LJ Hart are working together to navigate new challenges posed by the turbulent economic climate and its effect on material pricing.
- Despite unexpected increases in cost of construction, the project is still on track and is scheduled to begin in the fall.
The Board approved the Career Ladder Plan for the 2025-2026 school year.
- The District is required to submit an approved plan by the end of April.
- The full plan with highlighted changes is attached to this post.
The Board approved a continuation of the District’s partnership with Scott Regional Technology Center in Monett.
- Thirty-three students attended Scott Tech this year and scheduling is underway for next year.
The Board approved membership in the Missouri School Board Association for the 2025-2026 school year.
- In addition to full maintenance of our Board Policies, MSBA provides the following services:
- Legislative Advocacy
- Assistance with obtaining the Local Tax Effort from other Missouri School Districts.
- Missouri State Statute Section 167.126, RSMo, allows a school district providing education services to a student who resides in another district but was placed in the district by:
- the Department of Mental Health, Department of Social Services,
- a court of competent jurisdiction,
- or other placements as guaranteed by law,
- To bill the district of residence an amount equal to the average sum produced per child by the local tax effort of the district of domicile.
- MSBA assists us in billing Districts who have students attending school in Mount Vernon due to placement by one of the agencies listed above.
- Professional Development for the Board in the Form of Meetings and the Annual Conference
- Professional Development for Board Secretary
- Assistance with obtaining Public Placement Funding
- The Public Placement Fund is reimbursement for educating both IEP and non-IEP students placed within a non-domicile LEA by:
- the Children’s Division (CD),
- the Department of Mental Health (DMH),
- the Division of Youth Services (DYS), or
- a Court of Competent Jurisdiction.
- Funding is available when the educational costs of these students exceed the revenues received by the serving LEA.
- MSBA assists us in billing Districts who have students attending school in Mount Vernon due to placement by one of the agencies listed above.
- Required Board Trainings
- Assistance with School District Administrative Claiming
- The purpose of administrative claiming is to form a partnership between the DSS, MHD, and individual school districts to share in the responsibility for promoting access to health care for students in the school system.
- Many of the activities performed by school district staff meet the claimable criteria for MHD administrative claiming.
- The primary purpose of administrative claiming is to reimburse school districts for these activities.
- The District receives reimbursement in two ways:
- We can get direct reimbursement for students that we have been given consent to claim for.
- We also get "cost settlement" which is an amount that covers what we might have received if we had been able to claim for the students.
- MSBA assists us by facilitating this very complicated process.
- School Safety Guidance and Funding
In Closed Executive Session:
The following personnel information was shared with the Board:
Blake Adelman is resigning from his position as a Social Studies Teacher and Coach at MVHS at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year.
- Mr. Adelman joined the District in 2024 and has spent the past year teaching Social Studies and coaching football and basketball at MVHS.
The Board approved the following personnel recommendations:
Ryann Carter was approved for one of the vacant Social Studies Teaching Positions at MVHS.
- Mrs. Carter was also approved as the Assistant High School Cheer Coach for next season.
- Mrs. Carter brings four years’ experience teaching Social Studies in the Savannah, Georgia area.
Alexis Cauthon was approved as the next Head Coach of the Lady Mountaineer Basketball Program.
- Ms. Cauthon is currently teaching Physical Education at MVMS and has served as the Freshmen Coach for the Lady Mt’Neers each of the past two seasons.
- Ms. Cauthon was a four-year member of the Evangel Women’s Basketball Program.
Colby Fielding was approved for a vacant Custodial Position at MVHS.
- Mr. Fielding is retired from military service and most recently worked at Jack Henry.
The next scheduled meeting of the Mount Vernon R-V Board of Education will be a Closed Executive Session on Tuesday, April 22. The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 22 at 7 PM in the District Administration Office Board Room.