In a short Sept. 10 meeting of the McDonald County R-1 School District Board of Education, staff members reported on the district's enrollment and virtual instruction.
Superintendent Mark Stanton said he wanted to thank the teachers and staff for their hard work.
"It is incredible to see the love poured out for our kids. It makes me proud to be your superintendent," he said.
He said, even with virtual instruction, enrollment has dropped almost 160 from August last year to August this year. Fortunately, that will not hurt the district in terms of funding, because the state determines funding based on the district's best year out of three for enrollment, he said.
Assistant Superintendent Joy Hardridge said she has started putting on the website how many students and teachers have covid-19 and how many are quarantined. The district has one student with covid-19, and she has to protect the privacy of that student and, therefore, she is not breaking down the numbers by school, she said. If no one contacts a family about contact tracing, "no news is good news," she said.
Shelli Sullivan, the administrator of Mustang Academy, reported the district has 225 students on the virtual platform Edgenuity and 133 on the virtual platform Launch. In each school, teachers are making phone calls to make sure students are logging in. She said it is challenging for students to spend several hours on the computer each day but most are on track.
Following that discussion, Stanton told the board the district has requested a food waiver through USDA with Opaa, the district's food management company, for free meals for students. The only problem is that the school district already provides one free meal -- a free dinner. Stanton said if the district is able to provide another free meal, virtual students and their younger siblings will be able to get it curbside.
Also, Lindsay Richert of Paragon told the board that everything is going well with the weight room project at the high school, and it is getting close to completion. She said there is a delay on a mechanical unit due to covid-19.
Director of Operations Will Gordon said students have moved into the Noel Primary addition.
Director of Transportation Tiffany Lilly requested permission to pick up students living within a mile of the school where it is deemed unsafe to walk because of highways or railroads. Board President Frank Woods said the state law is three miles, but this has been requested every year for as long as he can remember for student safety. The board approved the request.
Stanton presented the board with options for bus leasing. The only vendor was LJ Hart. The board approved a $57,284 down payment on three buses with a 1.93 percent interest rate.
In other business, the board:
• Voted to approve Kevin Benish as Title IX coordinator.
• Voted to approve a service agreement with Phoenix Home Care for a high-needs student. The district will be reimbursed 50 percent by Medicaid for this expense.