STE. GENEVIEVE — This information includes highlights from the Ste. Genevieve County R-II Board of Education’s March 19, 2024, 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 March Report shares exciting news about the MOEOP Plan for 2024, gives a shout-out to school board members for School Board Recognition Month, and takes a look at MSBA’s Spring Advocacy Series that culminates in Jefferson City with Advocacy Day. MSBA’s Director of Outreach Caitlin Whaley explains the importance of these 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
MSBA – School Board Recognition Month.
During the month of March, communities across the state honor the dedicated service of their local boards of education during Missouri School Board Recognition Month. The goal is to build awareness and understanding of the important function an elected board of education plays in communities and schools. All Missouri citizens are asked to recognize the important contributions of these men and women and focus attention on the vital role these public officials play in the education of Missouri’s children. Dr. Taylor thanked the Board for all that they do for our district, our students and staff.
Kindergarten Registration.
The details regarding Kindergarten Registration for the 2024-2025 school year are below:
- Genevieve Elementary: Was held on Saturday, March 2, 2024
- Bloomsdale Elementary: Saturday, March 23, 2024, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Parents may contact the elementary offices to schedule appointments.
MAP Grade Level Assessments.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lance McClard reviewed the testing window for the MAP Grade Level Assessments:
- Bloomsdale Elementary: April 16 – May 9, 2024
- Genevieve Elementary: April 23 – May 9, 2024
- Genevieve Middle School: April 15 – May 2, 2024
MAP End-of-Course Exams.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lance McClard reviewed the testing window for the MAP End-of-Course Exams:
High School End of Course Exams:
April 24, 2024
- English I – 9th Grade
- English II – 10th Grade
- ACT Test – 11th Grade
April 25 – May 2, 2024
- Algebra
- Biology
- Government
Annual School Board Election — April 2, 2024.
Two positions, each with a three-year term, will be available for the Ste. Genevieve County R-II Board of Education in the Tuesday, April 2, 2024 election. The expiring terms for Board members are Mr. David Bova and Mrs. Geralyn Diesel. Filing ended on Dec. 26 at 5 p.m. Four applicants have filed a declaration of candidacy for the Board of Education. In the order of filing, they include: David Bova, Geralyn Diesel, Mike Wolk and Norman Vogt.
2023-2024 Retirement & Recognition Banquet.
The 2023-24 SG R-II Recognition & Retirement Banquet will be held on Friday, May 10, 2024, at 6 p.m. at the Ste. Genevieve Elks Lodge #2674.
Principal Reports.
Principals and students reported on a variety of student and teacher accomplishments.
Safety Reports.
Safety drills from each building were reviewed.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Instructional Program Presentation — SGMS Music.
Lindsey Elders, SGMS Band teacher and Michelle Jokerst, SGMS Choir teacher, presented an overview of all of the learning activities offered to students throughout their music programming. Mrs. Elders discussed her courses: Fundamentals of Music (a semester-long course where students begin with a guitar), Beginning Band (a year-long course where students are introduced to band instruments, such as brass, woodwinds and percussion), and Band (a year-long course for second- and third-year band students, where they expand their range and practice higher-level literature and rhythms). She also manages an extracurricular After School Jazz Band, where students meet once a week for an hour. Her goals include learning the basics of reading and playing music, creating a positive classroom culture that cultivates teamwork and promotes social skills and kindness and amplifies school spirit.
Mrs. Jokerst provided a presentation of her courses, including the early focus on sight-singing, an essential skill for all choir students, but especially those who are interested in auditioning for All District Choir. The semester pieces are divided up into more traditional pieces from the Classical period, as well as pieces the students choose that fit into the pop genre. Students have various opportunities to work with external music clinicians, both at Ste. Genevieve County R-II, as well as in outside events, such as the East Central Honors Choir. She shared that throughout her classes, she strives to build a feeling of belonging and family with her students, where all are welcome and feel included. Both the band and choir programs create meaningful “real world” experiences that motivate and inspire students, and that also provide them access to supplemental instruction and experiences outside of the classroom.
Prop SG Update.
Dr. Taylor provided an update on the ongoing Prop SG projects.
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: access to the 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.
- The elevator is installed and will be complete by Friday. Crews are working on paint touch-ups and finishing the flooring. Construction management anticipates an early April punch date, with occupancy in April. At one point, the SGMS project was anticipated to be finished by the end of May, so we are happy to share that this project is on track to finish earlier than originally expected!
Early Childhood Center:
- The Early Childhood Center is under construction, with a floor plan of 10 classrooms, as well as a kitchen, multipurpose room, and more.
- The classroom section concrete slab was poured last week, with a second pour scheduled for the first thing tomorrow morning. Framers have started on the classroom section, with structural steel anticipated to arrive in the next few weeks. The weather cost crews about 5 days so far on this project.
Ste. Genevieve Elementary:
- The preliminary design of Ste. Genevieve Elementary’s new gym and on-grade, ADA-accessible entrance with offices can be seen here. This project is nearing the end of the “design” phase, with ongoing discussions among the architects, engineers and CMAR regarding materials, specifications, and finishing touches.
- The district is hoping to address parking issues in conjunction with the launch of the Ste. Genevieve Elementary project construction. The District has worked with Bauman Excavating to identify possible parking opportunities to undergo in early summer prior to the SGE project construction beginning.
Wrestling / Athletic Facility:
- An athletic facility continues to be on the project list and at a minimum, a wrestling facility will be completed. Once the timeframe for the upcoming Ste. Genevieve Elementary project is solidified, more information will be shared regarding athletic facility possibilities and its timeline.
- Our hope is that through value engineering and continuing to take advantage of cost-saving measures with the expertise of our CMAR and architects, we may be able to do more and provide a facility that will benefit many more students and programs here at SG R-II. Below, a wrestling facility is identified as our priority, as well as two alternates:
- Priority: Wrestling Facility: a 100 x 120 ft. wrestling space with restrooms, storage and an office space. A preliminary design can be seen here. This project would be 12,000 sq. ft. and is estimated to cost about $2.4 million.
- Alternate 1: Wrestling Facility with Shell: a 100 x 120 ft. wrestling space with restrooms, storage and an office space, with an additional unfinished shell to be finished with turf at a later date. A preliminary design can be seen here, and this project is estimated to cost about $3.9 million.
- Alternate 2: Athletic Facility with Wrestling & Turf: a 100 x 120 ft. wrestling space with restrooms, storage and an office space, with an additional finished space with turf to be utilized by multiple SG R-II programs. A preliminary design can be seen here, and this project is estimated to cost about $5.1 million.
Timeline:
- The current timeline can be viewed here. It is important to note that these timeframes shift continually for the ongoing and future projects.
NEW BUSINESS
Insurance Rates for the 2024-25 School Year.
The Board approved health, dental, vision and life insurance rates for the 2024-2025 school year, as presented. The district is a member of the Mineral Area Health Consortium, which for the past several years has switched back and forth between Anthem and United Healthcare, depending on whichever company offered the lowest rates. Dr. Taylor shared that this year, the consortium decided to explore a variety of options, including self-funded programs, as the current pattern is unsustainable and creates a burden on districts’ employees who use these services. This year, Anthem did not submit a bid, and United Healthcare’s bid included a 20 percent increase in its rates. After exploring different self-funded options, the consortium decided to partner with OSBA (Ozarks Schools Benefits Association). Districts who offer HSA plans as base plans (such as SG R-II) saw higher deductibles than other districts; to address this, SG R-II worked with WallStreet and OSBA to apply gap insurance to lower these deductibles.
Dr. Taylor provided an overview of the health insurance plans for SG R-II for the 2024-2025 school year. These plans were reviewed and discussed in-depth by our SG R-II Insurance Committee. Dr. Taylor thanked the committee members for their different perspectives, insightful questions and comments and their commitment to providing employees with the best options possible.
With the gap insurance included to reduce deductibles for individuals and families, the cost to the district will be $513 per employee per month for the base plan. Dr. Taylor shared that it is important to note: Prior to the gap insurance being applied, the deductibles for the district’s base plan would have been $6,000 for an individual, and $12,000 for a family. With the gap insurance included, these deductibles were halved, reducing these to $3,000 and $6,000, respectively. He pointed out that the gap insurance will require an extra healthcare card, and could require some extra paperwork, but that this plan provides employees with as close of a plan as possible to what the district currently offers. The district’s Insurance Committee requested that OSBA reach out to our local healthcare providers and proactively communicate about our employees utilizing two cards for the 2024-2025 school year, as one card applies the gap insurance. OSBA has already taken steps to contact some local providers to make them aware of the change. The district also plans to proactively communicate with employees regarding these changes for the next school year.
See more information below:
Addition of School Resource Officer.
The Board approved the addition of a second School Resource Officer position for the district, to begin at the start of the 2024-2025 school year. Dr. Taylor shared that this has been a priority of the Board of Education and district administration for the past few years. He provided data collected from our fellow MAAA school districts regarding their school enrollment totals and the number of SROs they employ. Of these districts, Ste. Genevieve County R-II had the highest ratio. Adding another SRO would bring our ratio down to approximately 900 students to one SRO, which would move us to the middle when compared to the other MAAA schools. He also pointed out that this additional position should help relieve the workload of our SRO Officer Clark, who is consistently overwhelmed with the number of reports, interviews, and investigations, while still making time to build relationships with students and assist and manage programming for the sixth grade class.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The next Board of Education meeting will be a Regularly Scheduled Meeting on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at 7 p.m.