The Trenton R-9 Board of Education on Tuesday evening approved hard surface bus routes for this school year.
Director of Supportive Services Kris Ockenfels noted there were no changes from last year.
Superintendent Mike Stegman said he bases his decision on if school will be in session by talking to Trenton administration and what other school districts are doing. Announcements regarding winter weather are to be made on the Trenton School District’s Facebook, Twitter, and text app as well as on KTTN and possibly Kansas City TV stations 4 and 5.
Filing dates were announced for the Trenton Board of Education April 7th election. Candidates can file December 17th to January 25th when the district office is open. Terms expiring at the April 14th meeting are those of Doug Franklin, Brandon Gibler, and Corey Leeper.
Director of Special Services Tara Hoffman presented the Gifted Program Evaluation. Nancy Link works full-time with the program, and Rachel Rongey provides assistance. Hoffman noted Rongey does not receive a stipend for her assistance.
Stegman provided information on this year’s summer school. He reported the net gain was about $78,300, but that does not account for facility use and wear and tear. The summer school program length was 154 hours, and the state average daily attendance was 50.58. Stegman noted disciplinary problems became an issue, and Jackie Price is to report more information on summer school to the board next month.
A rough draft was presented of the 2018-2019 school audit by Conrad and Higgins. The board will consider approval of the audit at the December meeting.
Board members are required to complete a refresher training covering concepts in initial training and making sure staff maintain appropriate relationships with students. It was decided Board Secretary Susan Leeper will register each board member online for a one-hour refresher on protecting students from sexual misconduct. She will register all of the members at the same time, and they will have 30 days to complete the training. The other option was to set a specific date for a three-hour refresher training on the board’s role in preventing student sexual abuse. Leeper noted a law went into effect this year making the refresher training mandatory.
Stegman said he was “pleased” to announce no drugs were found during a random search at the middle and high schools on November 5th. He said the district did not want to warn students ahead of time about the search.
High School Principal Kasey Bailey said he thought the process went “more smoothly” this year, as backpacks were in lockers, and an email was sent to teachers a few minutes prior to the search asking them to keep students in the classroom.
The board moved into a closed session for personnel.