A policy passed last year under which the McDonald County School District pays college tuition for students enrolled in dual-credit classes will continue, board members decided Sept. 14.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Stanton explained that, in the past, a parent would have had to pay for the tuition, but the school is currently paying it in an effort to encourage students to take more-rigorous classes.
Board member Kim Harrel said, "We invest and our community invests a lot of money in our students. While I don't think we need to pay for the first two years of college credit, I do think we need to look into paying for some of these classes. It would give some of those kids who couldn't afford it the opportunity to take college classes."
Stanton said he thought the board should honor the courses and the students that enrolled for the fall.
Harrel made a motion that the board follow the policy passed last year. The board voted to do so. The board plans to revisit the issue in January, when they will re-evaluate the success of the program.
Assistant Superintendent Angie Brewer presented the board with a technology request to bid 1,845 Dell Chromebooks for grades 3 and up. Harrel asked whether the school district has the infrastructure to have all the laptops on the Internet at once. Brewer said it does. The board gave Brewer permission to seek bids for the laptops.
Also, the board retired bus 89 in honor of Bob Parish's 34 years of service. Parish recently died. They presented Parish's wife, Alecia, with a certificate. They also instituted the Bob Parish Bus Driver of the Year Award.
The FCCLA team received permission to go to a national meeting in Oklahoma City, and the FFA officer team received permission to go to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.
Athletic Director Nick Martin gave an update on fall sports. He said numbers are great compared to last year and all teams have done community service projects.
General News on 09/21/2017