The Trenton R-9 Board of Education has a new member as the board filled a vacant seat.
The board reviewed applications at a meeting Tuesday evening from George Moore and Marcie Cutsinger to fill the vacant position left following previous member Brooke McAtee’s resignation. The board then interviewed each applicant individually while the other stepped out of the board meeting room.
Member Corey Leeper moved to appoint Moore to fill the vacant position, but the motion died for lack of a second. Member Dorothy Taul moved to appoint Cutsinger for the position. Cutsinger’s appointment was approved by the board on a four to two vote. Leeper and member David Whitaker voted against the appointment. Secretary Susan Leeper then administered the oath of office to Cutsinger. Cutsinger will fill the position for the rest of McAtee’s term. Moore previously held a position on the school board, and Cutsinger currently is on the North Central Missouri Mental Health Center Board.
The board approved bids for diesel fuel and milk and approved a bid for fuel was from MFA Oil of Trenton. Supportive Services Director Kris Ockenfels said the bid offered a slight discount from pump price, but he noted it would fluctuate with the pump price. He reported there were five inquiries for fuel bids, but only one MFA submitted one. The board approved the bid for milk from Central Dairy. The bid includes skim, one percent, skim chocolate, and strawberry milk as well cottage cheese and sour cream in five-pound containers.
The board approved changes for the preschool, Rissler Elementary School, activities, Trenton Middle School, and Trenton High School with a provision on the activities, middle school, and high school handbooks to have a committee listen to appeals on an attendance policy. The policy says students need to maintain 90% attendance in order to be allowed to participate in athletics, trips, assemblies, and dances. Assistant middle and high school principal Kasey Bailey said the policy would go into effect after the first quarter. Another policy change is that students failing two classes are ineligible to participate in activities.
The board approved a total of five grant requests. One request was from high school business teacher Amy Franklin for $800 to purchase supplies to teach coding, collaboration, and problem-solving skills to business students. Another was from sixth-grade teacher Darci Taylor for $2,700 to purchase 10 triple beam balances for the science department. The third was from kindergarten teachers Adriane Todd and Julienne Graupman for $422 for the purchase of 25 whiteboards for the kindergarten classes. Yet another was from art teacher Lori Duff requested a grant for $1,198.95 to purchase tools to make the art room more effective and efficient. Those four grant requests were for GEC grants. Gifted instructor Nancy Link requested a grant from the Missouri Retired Teachers Association for $449.45 to purchase basic electronics and radio science equipment to be used in teaching the fundamentals of electronics and radio science.
The board approved the district offering the opportunity for students to receive the Seal of Biliteracy and reimbursing students who pass an assessment to receive the seal.
Trenton High School Spanish teacher Amy Curie presented information on the new Missouri program to encourage students to study a second language, value diversity, provide employers with a means of identifying bilingual employees and universities with a method of recognizing and giving credit to applicants, prepare students with 21st century skills to benefit them in a global economy and society, and to strengthen relationships and honor other cultures and languages in a community.
Curie said one requirement for students to receive the Seal of Biliteracy or Distinguished Biliteracy is to take an assessment and score at a certain level. She noted there are several assessments students could take, but she recommended the district choose the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Assessment of Performance Toward Proficiency in Languages (ACTFL AAPPL), which costs $20.
Superintendent Dan Wiebers presented the proposed budget for the 2018-2019 school year.
The proposed budget includes estimated total revenues of $12,490,923. Wiebers reported the revenues take into account the state adequacy target, weighted average daily attendance and average daily attendance, Proposition C, and classroom trust funding. He said the revenues will be made up of $11,572,650 in the incidental and teacher funds, $905,773 in the debt service fund, and about $12,500 in the capital projects fund.
The proposed budget includes estimated total expenditures of $12,593,555. Wiebers said the expenditures take into account $4,457,255 for incidentals, $7,112,517 for the teacher fund, $786,915 for debt service, and $236,868 for capital projects. Wiebers said the budget has an estimated deficit of $102,632.
The board set a final June meeting to close out the 2017-2018 budget as well as to approve the 2018-2019 budget and final fiscal year bills. The meeting will be held on the morning of June 28th at 8 o’clock.
Assistant middle and high school principal Kasey Bailey presented the A-Plus Program evaluation. He reported that 45 seniors graduated in 2018 as A Plus certified students, which is on par with previous years. Bailey said close to 900 students have participated in the A Plus Program at Trenton since 1998.
Wes Croy presented the activities program evaluation. He reported that 385 students participated in high school athletics and activities in the 2017-2018 school year, which was up 13 from the year before. Two-hundred-twenty-two students participated in middle school athletics and activities in 2017-2018, which was up 16 from the previous year.
Supportive Services Director Kris Ockenfels presented the technology evaluation. He reported multiple technology-related projects were completed during the 2017-2018 school year, and some future projects are already in the planning stages. He said the completed projects followed the guidelines of the technology plan and gave teachers the opportunity to use more technology in their classrooms.
Ockenfels also reviewed summer projects on the school campuses. Those projects included phase two of the Rissler walkway and activity pad, high school gym replacement, refinishing of the middle and high school gym floors, and high school kitchen HVAC and service line work.
The board moved into a closed session to discuss personnel.