The Trenton R-9 Board of Education approved the 2021-2022 budget and a proposal from SafeDefend at a special meeting on June 28, 2021.
The budget projects revenues of $12,301,838.46 and expenditures of $13,840,461.67. There is an estimated deficit of $1,538,623.21.
Superintendent Mike Stegman noted it was purposely a deficit budget, with the addition of academic programming and supply lines. Trenton R-9’s unrestricted cash is expected to stay at the 30% mark. That does not take into account that the district is qualified for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief 3 funds of $2,638,446.
The board approved actualizing the revenues and expenditures for 2020-2021. The Teachers Fund was zeroed out, and $522,935 was transferred from the General Fund to the Capital Projects Fund.
End of the fiscal year bills were approved for 2020-2021.
The board approved a proposal from SafeDefend for a personal protection system for the district. Stegman said the installation would cost $183,780 plus wiring for the system.
He explained there would be a yearly fee, and that would stay the same for five years. He reported at the last regular board meeting that the yearly fee would be about $11,000. The fee is expected to drop after five years. Software upgrades are built into the fee.
Dan Cole with SafeDefend presented information on the system at the last regular meeting. He called it a crisis management harm mitigation rapid response solution. Activation modules would allow a staff member to place a finger on a device, network devices would indicate an alarm status, and alert messages would be sent to a safety team, district administration, campus staff, and first responders. Safety boxes would include a kit to stop bleeding, a tourniquet, a strobe light, pepper spray, and a wand to hit with.
After being asked by Board Member Melissa King, Stegman said substitute teachers would be put into the system. King said she wanted to make sure substitutes know how to use the system. Stegman noted substitutes would go through training.
The 2021-2022 tax rate hearing will be at the district office on August 10th at 5:25 in the evening. That is before the next scheduled regular board meeting. No regular Trenton R-9 Board of Education meeting is scheduled in July.
The Trenton R-9 School District made personnel announcements following an executive session held during a special board of education meeting.
Susan Gott was hired to become the next principal of the SM Rissler Elementary School. She was a first-grade teacher during the just-concluded school year. The school district reported her new salary will be $70,380. Current Principal Tiffany Otto had resigned to pursue another opportunity.
Other hirings in sports include David Shockley to be the head baseball coach with Jon Guthrie as the assistant. Emily Reardon was hired as the head coach of Trenton middle school softball with McKinley Hurley employed as an assistant coach for middle school softball and basketball. Jon Guthrie also was hired to be middle schools’ head football coach and David Sager will be an assistant coach.
Paraprofessionals were hired including Mercedes West at Rissler; Laura Black and Emily Lasley at the middle school; and Laura Callihan at the Trenton Success Center.
The board accepted a resignation from Marissa Cowan, a sixth-grade math teacher at the Trenton Middle School.