The Trenton R-9 Board of Education approved handbook changes on June 13th. Preschool, Rissler Elementary School, Trenton Middle School, and iPad handbook changes were approved six to zero as presented.
The vote was two in favor, three opposed, and one abstaining on Trenton High School Handbook changes as presented. Board members Andy Burress and Bill Miller voted in favor. Board President Brandon Gibler and board members Melissa King and Ronda Lickteig were opposed. Board Member Dorothy Taul abstained, and Vice President Jeff Spencer was absent.
There was then a vote on approving the THS Handbook changes, except for a change related to students who graduate early not being allowed to attend prom. That vote was six to zero.
Burress said he voted in favor of the original motion because he was not the one who would have to deal with students who graduated early at prom. King said she thought some stakeholders would not like the change.
Before the vote on the THS Handbook changes, there was a discussion on that change. THS Principal Chris Hodge said students who graduated early could have still gone to prom as a date of a THS junior or senior. The age limit is 21 for the prom. He believes when students graduate from THS, they are no longer his students.
Other THS handbook changes involved the addition of summer school policies that Hodge said were previously in a letter but had not been in the handbook before.
Another new policy involved a School Flex Program in which seniors could get a job that aligned with their personal plan of study. It would involve students who have been identified as potentially benefiting from an alternative delivery system to pursue timely graduation.
A change to the THS Handbook involved the academic attendance policy. Hodge said it would bring back Saturday School, and teachers could get Career Ladder hours with Saturday School. Students could also make up time in detention. The school office would assign Saturday School.
TMS Handbook changes include students who have an attendance lower than 90% not being allowed to participate in dances, rewards trips, and/or after-school activities. That includes attending home athletic events and activities. TMS Principal Mike Hostetter said he wants students to be at school.
He reported a student who misses five days of school in one quarter would not be eligible to attend those activities unless the student has an excuse, like a doctor’s note. Superintendent Daniel Gott said a student would have to miss about 17 days for the year to have less than 90% attendance.
Gott thought it would “hit home” when it came to events like dances and similar activities and not necessarily games and sports.
He said a system could be set up through Power School, so parents would receive a notification when their children hit a certain threshold on attendance.
Burress said he thought that if a student was not at school for a day and did not have a doctor’s note or excuse, he or she should not be allowed to come to activities after school that day.
Taul said she thought it was important to push notification of the 90% attendance policy to parents. Hostetter commented he planned to notify parents of the changes because he wants to be transparent.
Other TMS Handbook changes include a rewrite of a summer school policy that Hostetter said was easier to understand. It also changes the wording to say that students who do not attend or complete summer school may be retained in the same grade the next school year, or they will be put on academic probation in the core classes of the prior school year and will receive additional support in the Academic Lab.
Another TMS Handbook change involves a student who becomes sick at school reporting directly to the TMS office instead of the nurse’s office. Hostetter said sometimes the nurse’s office is busy. The TMS office would call the nurse’s office before a student would go there.
Water bottles at TMS and their contents may be checked by school personnel at any time. The handbook no longer says food products may be purchased from a store, and no homemade food is to be served.
A repeated paragraph was taken out of the TMS Handbook related to classroom phones. Part of a policy involving student behavior was taken out that involved scanning a QR code with an iPad when signing in and out of a classroom.
Dress code changes in the TMS Handbook include adding that face painting is prohibited, except as part of authorized and designated days. Backpacks and fanny packs must be kept in lockers. Hostetter said a student could have a fanny pack with prior approval if the student needed it.
There was also a change to the TMS Handbook that involved the consequences for uninvited contact with another person, such as pushing, pinching, roughhousing, or minor slapping, hitting, or kicking. The consequence started at three days before, but it could now be one day, depending on the situation or uninvited contact.
Rissler Principal Susan Gott reported there were three changes to the Rissler Handbook, and they mainly just changed the wording. Updates were made to involve standards-referenced grading and reading intervention plans.
Preschool Handbook changes involved the arrival and pickup times. The arrival times are now 7:50 for the morning class and 11:25 for the afternoon class. Dismissal times are 10:35 in the morning and 2:05 in the afternoon.
The preschool doors will be locked all the time, except during arrival and dismissal times. Anyone who needs assistance during school hours should ring the doorbell or call the preschool office.
Changes to the iPad Handbook include iPads being distributed in each student’s homeroom and students receiving the same iPad issued when they started attending TMS or THS. New students will receive an iPad during their first week of school.
Middle school students will not receive a sync cable and power brick. The iPads will be kept in homeroom classes. High school students new to the district will receive an iPad, sync cable, and power brick.
Only high school students should take home their iPads every day after school. IPads can be checked out to middle school students who need to complete work at home, and the checkout process should be through the homeroom teacher.
Students should take their iPads to the library media specialist or technology integration coach if they are broken or not working properly. Students are not allowed to load extra apps onto iPads.
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education accepted multiple bids on June 13th.
A bid of $150,000 was accepted from Custom Glass of Chillicothe for doors and windows. The bid includes replacing two sets of double doors at the north entrance at Rissler Elementary School, replacing two sets of double doors at the main entrance at Trenton Middle School, and replacing two single doors at the main entrance at Trenton High School. It also involves replacing the glass with Entry Guard glass where needed and replacing the glass with a quarter of an inch laminated safety glass where needed.
Superintendent Daniel Gott reported he originally considered putting a film on the glass, but the replacement glass is expected to last longer. He said the glass will be bullet-proof and shatter-resistant, and it will be a bit darker.
A bid from MFA Oil of Trenton was accepted for fuel. Board Member Andy Burress abstained from the vote. The bid submitted June 8th was for $2.655 for number two diesel fuel with a nine-cent margin for a price of $2.745.
A dairy bid was accepted from Prairie Farms of Jefferson City. The bid included escalator pricing per unit of 28.7 cents for skim milk, 30.49 cents for one percent homogenized milk, 33.29 cents for one percent chocolate milk, and $10.90 for five pounds of cottage cheese and sour cream.
The board approved a contract extension with ProServ of Saint Joseph for Trenton R-9 copy machines. The 60-month rental for the equipment will be $3,000 per month.
Submitting of grant applications was approved. Baseball Coach David Shockley is applying for a $2,000 MFA Incorporated Charitable Foundation Grant to buy 20 to 25 team bags. Burress abstained from the vote for that grant. Rissler Special Education Teacher Amanda Gott is applying for a $318 grant from the GEC Community Foundation to buy sensory support for students with disabilities.
Summer School Administrator Dan Dunkin gave a summer school update. He said it was his first year as a summer school administrator for Trenton R-9.
The halfway point was June 12th, things had been going well, and there were not a lot of problems.
He noted that, after some problems the first day, things have been on time almost every day since. Summer school is focused on curriculum, and there have been fewer field trips than last year.
Dunkin reported that enrollment was about 290 when including the high school or around 280 if not counting the high school. The average attendance has been 210 or 220. He thinks attendance is pretty stable now.
A+ Scholarship Program and Activities Program evaluations were presented.
Athletic Director John Cowling reported the state removed math as part of the evaluation criteria for A+ three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the state did not remove it this year.
Three hundred twenty-four students participated in THS athletics and activities this past school year, and 173 participated in TMS athletics and activities.
Director of Academics Doctor Jill Watkins reported summer curriculum work was completed for kindergarten through fourth-grade math and sixth-grade reading. She said kindergarten through 12th grade are now using the same sequence for math.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced it will use $500,000 in remaining funds from the second round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief 2 money to pay the fee on educator certification tests from June 6th to September 30th. Watkins noted the fees are usually $70 to $90.
Trenton Middle School Fifth Grade English Language Arts Teacher Kayla Roberts was selected as a recipient of the National Board Certification Grant, sponsored by DESE and the Kauffman Foundation. The grant is for $3,850 and is provided in the form of reimbursements to the school district.
THS Business Teacher Salem Croy will participate in the Career Technology Education Mentoring Program through DESE focusing on business, marketing, and information technology. TMS Counselor Whitley Richman will participate in the School Counselor Mentoring Program through DESE focusing on the comprehensive school counseling program and building a network of school counselors.
Gott reported on summer projects. They include the new preschool office, landscaping at the front flower bed at THS, a new fence around the playground at Rissler, painting, sidewalk repairs, new toilets in THS and TMS staff restrooms, and new urinals in THS student restrooms. Other projects include a new freezer at Rissler and dishwashers for the preschool, starting a rotation on replacing iPads for the fifth grade, seven new Smartboards at Rissler, desktops for administrators and administrative assistants, and a server.
Gott hopes for the district to get an 11-passenger van in the spring. He would also like to get a new SUV or van and a car in the next few years.
Gott reported preliminary findings show there was hail damage to sections of the roof at Rissler and THS. He was still waiting for the final report from the insurance adjusters.
The board will have a meeting on June 30th at 7 am to close out the 2022-2023 budget, approve the 2023-2024 budget, and approve final bills. Gott said a July board meeting is not planned.
After a closed session for discussion of personnel, resignations were announced for Stacey Russell from the Success Center, Sara Huffstutter from Rissler food service, and Paraprofessional Kimberly Townsend.
New hires are Jessica Gannon as a first-grade teacher at Rissler, Emily Lasley as a THS science teacher, Gary Ireland as a TMS custodian, and Wes Croy for the Success Center.
Jackie Price and Whitley Richman will share THS Student Council extra duty.
Brad Ewald will move from THS Science to THS Physical Education.
