STE. GENEVIEVE – The board briefs from the Sept. 20 meeting of the school board meeting have been released.
This information includes highlights from the Ste. Genevieve R-II Board of Education’s Sept. 20, 2022, Regular Meeting. This is an unofficial record. The official Board Minutes are posted on the district website and are located on BoardDocs, linked here. The video of the meeting can be found on the district’s Youtube Channel, SGDragonsTV.
MSBA MONTHLY REPORT
The MSBA September Board Report (https://www.mosba.org/board-report/) features a look at the latest state assessment data and an update on the Blue Ribbon Commission looking into teacher recruitment and retention issues. The MSBA Board Report is a monthly five to seven-minute video program featuring the latest news from MSBA about public education in Missouri. The program is designed to be shown during local school board meetings.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Board members and administrators listen to concerns and respond when appropriate by mail or telephone at a later date. The Board does not respond within the meeting to those who come to offer public comment. In order to speak during public participation, a Public Comment Form must be filled out and submitted to the Board President prior to the beginning of the meeting. See Policy BDDH-1: Public Participation at Board Meetings for guidelines and procedures.
There was no public participation during this meeting
CONSENT AGENDA
Reopening Plan. The Board approved an update to the Reopening Plan: the district’s nurse staff will no longer conduct close contact tracing. The amount of time necessary to contact families during the close contact tracing process is unsustainable for our staff. The district consulted fellow MAAA schools, as well as consulted current CDC guidance for schools, when making this determination.
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
Enrollment Count. Superintendent Dr. Julie Flieg presented the 2022-2023 Enrollment Count (https://go.boarddocs.com/mo/stegen/Board.nsf/files/CJEKEY51951D/$file/Updated%20-%20First%20Day%20of%20School%20Count%20-%2009-19-2022.pdf). During the 2022-2023 school year, 70 preschool students were enrolled, which includes students in the Early Childhood Special Education program. For K – 12 enrollment this year, we had a total of 1,793 students enrolled on the first day of school. This total is a decrease of 14 students from the 2021-2022 school year.
Technology Report. Technology Director Nancy Toombs presented the annual Technology Report (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1L51IgW-LNPizwm-OmYVoE1ZNGg0L5VI6B77eXT-hEKY/edit?usp=sharing), where she gave an overview of the district’s technology goals, tools, resources and professional development.
Professional Development Day on Sept. 2, 2022. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lance McClard presented a summary of the Professional Development Day (https://go.boarddocs.com/mo/stegen/Board.nsf/files/CJ8SVA736327/$file/September%20PD%202022%20Agendas%20.pdf) for teachers, paraprofessionals and aides that was held on Sept. 2, 2022. Employees also had the opportunity for collaboration on this day, both through vertical and grade level meetings. He mentioned that our elementary teachers are undertaking LETRS Training, based on the science of reading initiative encouraged by the state. New this year was a session given by middle school/high school counselor Ed Draper about the transition for students from 8th to 9th grade. There were many break-out sessions offered on this day, including some sessions employees were not able to attend back in August. Dr. McClard shared that the Professional Development Committee is currently delving into survey results and planning for the March professional development day.
Principal Reports. Each building principal reported on a variety of teacher and student accomplishments (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1fIhwJLQJI0r8kGnQX7jsmS00W-hnrBOybjhTv_C1CgI/edit?usp=sharing).
Safety Reports. Safety drills from each building were reviewed.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Instructional Program Presentation — Elementary Physical Education. The team of elementary physical education teachers from both Bloomsdale Elementary and Ste. Genevieve Elementary submitted a presentation (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1xp5W8lBWK_5d5Ig3oloD5LYX9qhdcJeK8S3ZrMy3FbY/edit?usp=sharing) of all of the fun learning activities provided to students throughout their physical education programming!
Emergency Operations Plan. Dr. Lance McClard presented, and the Board approved, the updates to the Ste. Genevieve County R-II School District Emergency Operations Plan for the 2022-2023 school year.
- District and building level emergency procedures for fire, tornado, earthquake and acts of violence have been updated to align with the most current information available.
- All plans maintain a consistent format and are updated with current faculty and staff information.
- All plans are consistently reviewed and updated in accordance with updated guidance.
- Implementation procedures have also been reviewed.
- Effective plans with suitable techniques to address a variety of emergency situations are an ongoing process. Emergency procedures are subject to change as more efficient and effective techniques are developed.
- A separate document related to COVID-19 planning and procedures is updated as new information is provided by the Center for Disease Control and our local Health Department.
- The safety of our students and staff is of the utmost importance to the District, therefore, this Emergency Operations Plan will not be made available for public viewing.
- School Resource Officer Christy Clark will organize a meeting this fall with local emergency responders and personnel to discuss the plan, visit our campuses, and provide some insight into any adjustments that might need to be made.
Bus Routes. Superintendent Dr. Flieg presented, and the Board approved, the bus routes for the 2022-2023 school year. Maps of the 31 bus routes were available prior to the meeting for the Board of Education members to review. This year, there were no significant route changes. Fallert Bus Service buses travel approximately 2,200 miles per day. In an effort to protect student privacy and safety, route information will not be shared for public viewing.
NEW BUSINESS
Assessment Plan and Updated Assessment Schedule. Dr. McClard presented, and the Board approved, the Assessment Plan and Updated Testing Schedule for the 2022-23 year (https://go.boarddocs.com/mo/stegen/Board.nsf/files/CJBHEX46C2F0/$file/2022-23%20Assessment%20Plan%20-%20Google%20Docs.pdf). The assessment plan includes one addition this year, including a kindergarten entry assessment, required by the state.
Amended Budget. Dr. Flieg presented, and the Board approved, the Amended Budget for the 2022-2023 school year (https://go.boarddocs.com/mo/stegen/Board.nsf/files/CJFNK660232A/$file/2022-2023%20Amended%20Budget%20Book%20-%20Updated.pdf). The Amended Budget reflects updated estimates for expenditures and revenues and revised projections for the remainder of this year. The budget will be reviewed and amended in February 2022.
The budget allows the district to maintain present programs and educational opportunities while proactively planning for uncertain tax revenue and additional expenses to cover litigation fees for a local tax protest. This budget also includes $10 million in revenues and expenses for Prop SG, as well as the $770,046 in additional funds created by selling the bonds at a premium. (Currently, the budget does not take into account the interest that these bonds will earn through investment. Approximately $7.5 million was invested in a 6-month treasury at 3.7 percent. We will have more accurate figures in the February Amended Budget.)
Total revenues in the 2022-2023 budget are projected to be approximately $42,461,806, and total expenses are projected to be approximately $41,470,983, with a current projection of building fund balances by approximately $990,823. This large fund balance is being built through the use of the CRRSA – ESSER III funds and is being built and held to assist Ste. Genevieve County with legal fees associated with tax protests, such as the corporate LafargeHolcim’s 2021 and 2022 tax protest and the Mississippi Lime Company 2022 tax protest.
- LafargeHolcim filed a protest with the local Board of Equalization regarding the value of some of its properties and subsequent taxation in 2021. The Board of Equalization upheld the Ste. Genevieve Assessor’s Office values, and LafargeHolcim protested and appealed the valuation to the Missouri Tax Commission. At this time, the expected date for this hearing would be May 2023. If the Missouri Tax Commission were to uphold the assessor office values, the next level of appeal would be the court system. This process could take several years. During this time, the tax revenue that would be paid to the taxing entities is being held in escrow until the protest is resolved. In addition, LafargeHolcim filed a protest on its 2022 taxes, and Mississippi Lime Company filed a similar protest regarding the value of some of its property for 2022. The district’s portion of this tax revenue will also be held in escrow until the protests are resolved.
- The district receives approximately 75% of local taxes. If the appeal makes its way through the court system, the legal fees for the district could be in the $3.0 to 4.5 million range.
- For Fiscal Year 2022, the district paid approximately $242,063.47 in fees to the Ste. Genevieve County Assessment Fund (https://go.boarddocs.com/mo/stegen/Board.nsf/files/CJFNRB6127F2/$file/FY22%20SG%20R-II%20Legal%20Fees%20Paid.pdf) to assist with legal services, such as the LafargeHolcim Tax Protest.
- Flieg shared that she is projecting about $450,000 in legal fees associated with this tax protest for fiscal year 2023. This figure will be updated in the February Amended Budget as needed.
Dr. Flieg also gave an overview of the funds the district received due to the pandemic, including ESSER I, II and III, as well as the CARES funds. This will be the last year that the district receives funding due to the pandemic. These funds have been allocated to preventative mitigating resources, as well as salaries and benefits, freeing up some local funding to address: HVAC issues, roofing projects, legal fees from tax protests, and to create positions and programming to assist educators in addressing student learning loss.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The next Board of Education meeting will be a Regularly Scheduled Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, at 7 p.m.