STE. GENEVIEVE –Note: This information includes highlights from the Ste. Genevieve County R-II Board of Education’s April 18, 2023, Reorganizational and Regular meetings. 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.
REORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
In accordance with §115.124, RSMo., the District did not hold an election because the number of candidates filing was equal to the number of open positions. Mrs. Martha Resinger, Mr. James Kirchner, and Mr. Eric Basler took the Oath of Office and were sworn in as members of the Ste. Genevieve County R-II School District Board of Education. The Board also elected the following Board officers at this time: President: Mr. David Bova; Vice President: Mr. Eric Basler; Missouri School Boards’ Association (MSBA) delegate: Mrs. Martha Resinger; alternate MSBA delegate: Mr. Eric Basler.
MSBA MONTHLY REPORT
The MSBA April Board Report features a look at MSBA’s 2023 Advocacy Day and Student Showcase held in Jefferson City, as well as information regarding the MOEOP signup deadline, MSBA’s Summer Summit and Delegate Assembly, and important information for newly elected board members.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.
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
Kindergarten Enrollment Results.
Superintendent Dr. Flieg presented the current enrollment numbers for incoming kindergarten students for the 2023-2024 school year.
- Genevieve Elementary Kindergarten Registration was held March 25, 2023. Currently, 75 students have been registered to attend kindergarten in the fall.
- Bloomsdale Elementary Kindergarten Registration was held on April 1, 2023. Currently, 39 students have been registered to attend kindergarten in the fall.
- If a parent missed kindergarten registration, parents should email bkoetting@sgdragons.org or call 573-883-4500 ext. 2424 to set up a screening for the student.
Last Day of School.
The last day of school (for pre-k through 11th grade) will be Wednesday, May 24, 2023, and will be an early dismissal, ending at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 25, 2023, will be a work day and the summer check-out day for certified employees.
Ste. Genevieve High School Events.
- The Ste. Genevieve High School Prom will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, at the Ste. Genevieve Elks Lodge.
- The Ste. Genevieve High School Graduation will be held at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, in the SGHS Peggy J. Johnson Gymnasium. More details will be shared as the date nears.
Principal Reports.
Each building principal reported on a variety of teacher and student accomplishments.
Safety Reports.
Safety drills from each building were reviewed.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Instructional Program Presentation – Elementary Art.
The team of Ste. Genevieve Middle School Science teachers presented educational programming and learning opportunities for 6th through 8th grade students! Some of these included: a focus on collective vision for collaboration; implementing phenomena-based learning; an overview of skills and topics taught in each grade level and class; examples of hands-on individual and group work; highlights of class work that is above the grade level standards for classes who are ready for higher concepts; and an explanation of how NWEA scores and raw data is used, including delving into where students are exceeding the national average and where they need to improve, how and where there is growth, and how curriculum can be structured to maximize growth.
Summer School.
The Board approved Summer School for 2023. The classes that will be offered this summer include: English I – IV, Algebra I, and Personal Finance. The schedule includes 60 hours both semesters. First semester will be from May 30 – June 16, and second semester will be from June 20 – July 12. New this year, the start times for the high school courses will be the same in order to provide consistency for the students. The elementary summer school program is a supplemental reading program, and it will be from May 30 – June 16.
Prop SG Update.
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Paul Taylor presented an update on Prop SG. Construction at Bloomsdale Elementary is moving along; the front and back walls of the addition have a brick exterior, with the side wall still to go. The addition is under roof, and crews can now work inside on rainy days. The project has progressed to where work is a few weeks ahead of schedule. If we are able to stick to this timeline, construction should finish in time to allow teachers to return in August and get a jump on the next school year.
The Early Childhood Committee recently toured two Early Childhood Centers, one in Orchard Farms, and one in Troy. The district is now compiling feedback from the committee members, and will meet with preschool and Early Childhood Special Education educators on Thursday to discuss their feedback, review updated floor plans and make adjustments.
NEW BUSINESS
Board Resolution – SRSN System Design Zone Demonstration Project with Federal Waiver Request.
The Board approved the resolution for the District’s continued full participation in the Success-Ready Students Network: System Design Zone work and partnership with DESE in seeking a federal wavier request to replace the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) with through-year assessments.
This waiver is part of the work our district is doing as a member of the Success-Ready Students Network (SRSN), a group of innovative districts across the state of Missouri to design a better way for each student to engage in meaningful learning, demonstrate individual growth, and prepare for future success.
This work includes a focus on competency-based learning, as well as designing and implementing a new through-year, adaptive state assessment and accreditation system, which would ultimately replace the MAP test.
The SRSN is a growing, diverse group that currently includes 56 Missouri public and charter school member districts, four universities and 14 state and regional education organizations, working in collaboration with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Our district is also a member of a sub-group called the System Design Zone, made up of districts within the network recognized as leaders in the state of Missouri.
Our priorities are aligned with Governor Mike Parson’s, the Missouri State Board of Education, bipartisan legislative support, and DESE. There are also many states nationwide already doing this work.
We know that Missouri MAP test data does not provide an accurate, transparent reflection of student learning that students, parents and teachers can understand. It does not provide teachers with the timely feedback they need to effectively inform instruction, and it limits instruction by focusing on compliance, not learning.
Our district has already begun using NWEA growth-based, through-year assessments, in addition to giving the Missouri MAP test each year. The NWEA data has provided our educators, students and families with an opportunity to experience how this type of assessment supports student learning, effective teaching, and collaboration for student success.
We are designing a better way forward— a new system that is meaningful for students, actionable for teachers, personalized for each child, and meaningful for parents.
- Our students will be able to track and understand their own learning in real time. A through-year state assessment would be given at multiple points during the school year, allowing students to set individualized goals and measure their progress.
- Our families will receive timely, transparent feedback to understand their student’s growth and achievement.
- Our teachers will be empowered to positively impact student learning when they receive timely, actionable data that they can use in real-time.
- Our district will be able to focus on real-time data to support student growth while improving instructional programming.
- This approach will build on existing and future partnerships with community businesses and industries.
Much of the work of the SRSN aligns with our current practices, and we already have many of these systems in place, but they are not currently being recognized by the state for accountability. Our district looks forward to continuing this work, and to sharing more information about this work in the coming months.
Board Resolution – Appointment of a Blue Ribbon Commission to Study Missouri’s Funding Formula.
The Board approved the resolution calling for the State Board of Education to appoint a Blue Ribbon Commission to study Missouri’s funding formula and present findings and recommendations no later than November 30, 2023. Several versions of legislation in the Missouri House and Senate are aimed at looking at how Missouri funds its public schools. Dr. Flieg shared that there is a movement from public school leaders to ask the State Board of Education to take a look at the foundation formula and see how it can be improved.
She pointed out that in Ste. Genevieve, the district’s funding we receive from the state is very low, approximately 13.5% of our budget (excluding funds from bond refundings, federal CARES funds and federal ESSER funds). While this amount of funding was higher five years ago, LafargeHolcim came on the books and the portion of their taxes that they are not protesting increased our local assessed valuation. When local funding increases, state funding decreases. In Ste. Genevieve, our district lost state funding, because we have a higher assessed valuation in our county.
She also shared that there is a push by the state to increase the beginning teacher’s salary. At $42,000, our district’s beginning teacher’s salary is well above the current state minimum of $38,000, but this is contributed to our local tax base, not state funding, and many districts do not have the funding available for these increases. Public school leaders are pushing for the state to help fund increases to teachers’ salaries. “They have to invest in our teachers and our kids and our public schools,” Dr. Flieg said.
Proposals for Audit Services.
The Board accepted the Audit Proposal from Beussink, Hey, Roe & Stroder, LLC and approved a five-year agreement from Fiscal Year 2023 through 2027. The district received two proposals: one from Beussink, Hey, Roe & Stroder, LLC, and one from Clifton Larson Allen, LLC. Clifton Larson Allen indicated a need to raise its rates, which were more than double those of Beussink, Hey, Roe & Stroder, LLC, a company that works with other public school districts and received positive references from other clients.
Proposals for 403b/457b Investment Management Services.
The Board accepted the 403(b)/457(b) Investment Management Services Proposal from The Bedford Group of Ameriprise Financial and approved a five-year agreement from Fiscal Year 2023 through 2027. The district received four proposals, and The Bedford Group received positive references stating that the company is proactive and communicative.
Addition of Behavioral Intervention Coach.
The Board approved the addition of a Behavioral Intervention Coach for the District, effective for the 2023-2024 school year. The number of students identified with behaviors in education are increasing, and education teams are identifying a rise in students’ inability to self-regulate, calm themselves, and remain in the classroom and/or school setting. These students need additional support, diversified strategies, and activities in behavior modification and improvement.
In terms of funding, the addition of this position is comparable to the increase in costs over the past year for contracted services, some of which the District will be able to educe or eliminate. In addition, this person would be a district employee housed on our campus and accessible to all of our students.
Regular and special education teachers who instruct these students will benefit from coaching provided by the Behavior Intervention Coach. This employee will serve as an intervention specialist who works with:
- students to learn and implement behavior modification skills;
- educators to model, coach and teach behavior strategies and interventions; and
- educational teams and families to collaborate.
The Behavior Intervention Coach will also collaborate with care teams, grade level teams, counselors and building administration when students are being considered for evaluation in our specialized programs. For additional details about the Behavior Intervention Coach, please see the job description.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The next Board of Education meeting will be a Regularly Scheduled Meeting on May 16, 2023, at 6 p.m.