STE. GENEVIEVE – This information includes highlights from the Ste. Genevieve County R-II Board of Education’s Jan. 17, 2023, 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 January Report takes a look back at some of the highlights from the past year. The day-to-day work of ensuring student success is difficult, but the hard work of so many engaged school leaders across the state has us looking forward to the infinite possibilities of a new year.
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.
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
Annual School Board Election — April 4, 2023.
The Ste. Genevieve County R-II School District has completed candidate filing for the district’s Board of Directors. In accordance with § 115.124, RSMo., the district will not hold an election, because the number of candidates filing was equal to the number of open positions. The following candidates will be sworn into office at the School Board’s reorganization meeting on Tuesday, April 18, 2023:
- Eric Basler
- James Kirchner
- Martha Resinger
Kindergarten Registration.
Kindergarten Registration for the 2023-2024 school year will take place the following dates and times:
- Ste. Genevieve Elementary: Saturday, March 25, 2023, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Bloomsdale Elementary: Saturday, April 1, 2023, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Parents may contact the elementary offices beginning Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, to schedule appointments.
Safety Reports.
There are no safety reports to present this month.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Instructional Program Presentation — Gifted Education.
Gifted teacher Crystal Koenig and students Anna Fischer, Blair Bauman and Reese Wibbenmeyer presented an overview of the District’s Gifted Education Program. This included information about the skills that are fostered, such as global mindedness, communication skills, executive functioning, affective processing, creative thinking and complex reasoning.
The students shared why they love the Gifted Program, including how they feel challenged to focus on their creativity and interpersonal skills, as well as supported in diverse interests, such as learning new skills (hatching chickens, launching businesses, etc.) or improving in a particular area.
Prop SG Update.
Romy Uelk, President and Principal in Charge of Programming for KRJ Architecture, and Colin Rogers, President of Project Management for Brockmiller Construction & Construction Manager At Risk (CMAR), co-presented an update to the Board of Education regarding Prop SG. This included an overview of the facility projects, design plans and current timelines and cost estimates. The five project areas discussed are below:
Early Childhood:
- We are excited to share that the district has officially obtained an additional 5 acres adjacent to the 6.08 acres purchased in March of last year. This new parcel was acquired from Mississippi Lime, and is located at the western end of Maple Drive in Ste. Genevieve. This additional parcel will better allow the district to build an Early Childhood Center with the necessary classrooms, resources, playground and parking for our preschool and early childhood special education students.
- This preliminary layout shows 10 classrooms with a possible four classrooms to be included in an alternate bid. This means that if funds are available, it would be possible to add these four rooms into the construction project. If not, the design lends itself to additional classrooms in the future. This preliminary rendering shows possibilities for the front of the building, evoking school spirit and a welcoming feel.
- Now that the district has officially obtained sufficient space for building an Early Childhood Center, we will launch an Early Childhood Committee to determine specifics related to the Center’s development, including building plan and design, reorganization of current early childhood programs, before and after school childcare, transportation services, extended school year, and more. It will be important to take into consideration the surrounding neighborhood when planning and designing this new center.
Bloomsdale Elementary:
- The new secure entrance for Bloomsdale Elementary is composed of an approximately 1500 sq. foot addition as the new main entrance. This would allow the school office to securely welcome visitors and route them either into the office space or into the building. This space includes the double-gated entry, offices, a work space and a restroom. The existing spaces where the offices are currently located would then be renovated. At the time of the Board of Education meeting, bids were being received for this project, and were due on Thursday, Jan. 19. More information about the timeline for the Bloomsdale Elementary project will be shared next week.
- A preliminary rendering can be seen here.
Ste. Genevieve Elementary:
- The preliminary design of Ste. Genevieve Elementary’s new gym and on-grade, ADA-accessible entrance can be seen here. This project will take some parking spaces, but there are areas that have been identified as able to provide potential new parking. The district will discuss parking possibilities with the civil engineers moving forward. A preliminary rendering can be seen here.
Ste. Genevieve Middle School:
- The addition consists of an elevator spanning three floors in order to make our middle school accessible, and is located in the back corner of the school to avoid detracting from the traditional facade of the front of the building. The three floors are as follows: nurse’s office, elevator and corridor on the basement level; elevator and new counseling suite on the first floor; and elevators and bathrooms on the second floor.
Ste. Genevieve High School Gym / Wrestling Area:
- The main project consists of a practice gym addition on the side of the existing gym building. Currently, the design is one story. The current wrestling area will be renovated into a new weight room, and the current weight room will be renovated into a locker room for visiting teams. Originally, the plan was to make a two-story addition where the new wrestling area would be on the first level with the practice gym on the second level. However, Colin pointed out that it would be more cost effective to pull the two areas apart and leave the gymnasium one level while utilizing a metal building elsewhere on campus for the wrestling area. This new plan could possibly offer space within the metal building for other programs, such as a turf area for football and marching band, as well as batting cages for baseball and softball.
- Currently, the plan is a 120 x 100 metal building that would encompass four wrestling mats, small locker rooms and bathrooms, which were identified as needs in Prop SG. Brockmiller Construction, Inc. has built similar metal buildings for other school districts, as it is a popular design. Colin explained to Board members that these buildings offer an economy of scale and a cheaper price point, meaning that districts receive more square footage for a lower price. Having this standalone structure could save the district money rather than build the two-story addition originally discussed. This metal building could be expanded upon to become a 120 by 300 structure with turf, if funds allow.
- The district will evaluate a report from GeoTech in order to determine a possible location for the metal building.
Preliminary Timeline:
- Romy and Colin then presented the current project timeline schedule. Bloomsdale Elementary’s project is first, with construction starting this spring with the hope of being completed before school begins in the fall. At this time, the SGHS gym addition is next, with construction possibly starting this spring and finishing by the end of 2023. The SGMS addition and SGE projects are planned to be packaged together and bid a few months after SGHS, with construction happening through the summer. It is possible that the SGMS project could finish by the end of the year, with the SGE projects taking longer into next summer but being completed before the 2023-2024 school year. The metal athletics building would be saved for last, in order to better understand how the funding will cover these projects, and in order to see what the possibilities can be for this building.
Preliminary Cost Estimates:
- KRJ Architects and Brockmiller Construction, Inc. both calculate cost estimates concurrently and better refine those estimates as design plans and bidding progresses. It is important to note that the $5 million listed for the metal athletic facility is a placeholder, as the scope of that project is not yet decided. Throughout the process, the district can take advantage of any potential cost savings identified, and some bid alternates can be held for the future when more funds are available.
- Colin also explained that some of these projects will include the value engineering process, where a project is bid, and then some items are identified by contractors as areas where we might be able to reduce costs and realize some savings. Within these cost estimates, contingency funds are also built in on the front end, in order to offset possible change orders if and when unforeseen construction costs occur. Cost estimates will be updated and shared as the district moves forward, as well as possible alternate construction decisions within each project.
These cost estimates are preliminary, and it is important to note that there are a variety of variables that will come into play to ensure that these projects fall within the parameters of Prop SG.
NEW BUSINESS
Draft Copy of 2023-24 Proposed School Calendar.
Below is the draft copy of the 2023-2024 calendar from the SG R-II Calendar Committee. The members of the committee will present a final copy of the calendar to the Board of Education for approval at the Regularly Scheduled Meeting in February.
Below are a few bulleted highlights from the draft calendar:
- First Day of School — Monday, Aug. 21, 2023
- End of First Semester — Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023
- Two Full Weeks for Christmas Break
- Classes Resume after Christmas Break — Thursday, Jan. 4, 2023
- Last Day of School — Friday, May 17, 2023
- 5 Scheduled Make Up Days — Monday, May 20, 2023 — Friday, May 24, 2023
- Graduation — Saturday, May 18, 2023
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The next Board of Education meeting will be a Regularly Scheduled Meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, at 7 p.m.