Editor’s note: This information includes highlights from the Ste. Genevieve County R-II Board of Education’s May 21, 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.
STE. GENEVIEVE – The Ste. Genevieve County School District R-II has released this report of the May 21 meeting of the board of education.
MSBA MONTHLY REPORT
The May Board Report takes a look back at MSBA’s Advocacy Day featuring remarks from Senator Karla Eslinger and Carter D. Ward Award winner Jennifer Wolfsie. In addition, this includes a look ahead to the Summer Summit, exciting news about the MOEOP Plan for 2024, and a congratulations to MSBA’s Student Scholarship winner.
The MSBA Board Report is a short monthly video featuring the latest news from MSBA and 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
SGHS Graduation — Class of 2024.
Graduation was held on Saturday, May 18, at 8 p.m. in the Peggy J. Johnson Gymnasium. Approximately 112 students participated in the Graduation Ceremony, and 117 students received their diplomas. Our last senior is scheduled to earn their final half credit this summer.
End of 2023-2024 School Year.
The last day of school for the 2023-24 school year will be this Thursday, May 23, 2024. Friday, May 24, 2024 will be a work day and the summer check-out day for certified employees.
Principal Reports.
Each building principal reported on a variety of teacher and student accomplishments.
MSBA Advanced Board Member Certification Achievement.
Board of Education Member Jamie Ballew was recently recognized by the Missouri School Boards’ Association with an Advanced Board Member Certification. This is earned by completing 31.5 certified Board member credits and other professional development requirements. Dr. Taylor shared a congratulations to Mrs. Ballew on earning this achievement, and the District is fortunate to have a Board that values continued learning in order to best meet the needs of our district and community as a whole.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Prop SG Update.
Dr. Taylor provided an update on the ongoing Prop SG projects.
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.
- Work continues on schedule for the Early Childhood building— wall panels in the classroom hallways are being installed, as well as ceilings.
- Last week, district administration and Early Childhood Center Director Bethany Koetting met with KRJ Architects to finalize finishes— color schemes, flooring, countertops, and more. (See some of the samples here.) We want each part of the building— from the entryway to the classrooms— to feel welcoming and bright.
- See some recent construction progress photos here.
Ste. Genevieve Elementary:
- The design of Ste. Genevieve Elementary’s new gym and on-grade, ADA-accessible entrance with offices can be seen here.
- A rendering of the exterior of the new addition can be seen here.
- The bid opening for the SGE project was held last week, and Dr. Taylor shared that we were pleased with the large turnout of local contractors. He explained that some of the totals came in higher and some came in lower than expected, but overall, the total landed almost exactly where our CMAR, Brockmiller Construction, Inc., predicted: $4.75 million. This number also includes a $250,000 contingency allowance, and a $50,000 contingency to remediate soils (which we anticipate needing to address in this project based on some fill located in that area). For next steps, Brockmiller will reach out to the contractors and begin the Value Engineering process, and the next construction update meeting will be next week.
- Taylor explained that our Maintenance Department is working with Brockmiller and KRJ to assess the current HVAC units at SGE and determine if the current units are on par with the new units for the upcoming project.
- We are excited to share that construction crews will begin moving equipment to the front of SGE next week, with work to start soon after a safety fence is installed.
- At this time, construction is anticipated to take approximately 13 months to complete.
Budget & Cost Estimates:
Dr. Taylor shared an overview of the current budget and approximate ongoing cost estimates for the Prop SG projects:
- Bloomsdale Elementary Addition: $769,000 (Completed)
- Genevieve Middle School Addition: $1.5 million (Completed)
- Early Childhood Center: $8.2 million (Bid total)
- Genevieve Elementary Addition: $4.75 million (Bid total)
The total for the first four Prop SG projects is approximately $15.2 million. The fifth project, an athletic wrestling facility, was projected to cost approximately $5.1 million for a total facility, which would include wrestling, restrooms and turf. With the addition of this facility, the total for the five projects is approximately $20.3 million.
Please Note: These cost estimates include General Conditions (4%) and CMAR fees (3%), but do not include architect design fees and ancillary costs such as soils investigation, furniture budgets, sewer work, asbestos abatement, land purchases, and more. With these costs included, the Prop SG projects could total closer to $22.5 million.
The district’s priority has been to both invest and spend the bond monies wisely in order to gain the most from our taxpayer dollars for these building needs across the board. To date, the district has earned more than $2.275 million from the sale of the $20 million bonds, as well as interest on those monies, which can also be utilized for the Prop SG projects.
Dr. Taylor was happy to share that at this point (barring any unforeseen costs arising with the two current projects), the district is on target for saving enough funds in the first four projects to be able to create a quality wrestling and athletic facility that can be utilized by multiple programming.
MSBA Full Maintenance Service Agreement.
The Board approved the annual School Boards’ Association (MSBA) Full Maintenance Service Agreement, effective May 1, 2024 to April 30, 2025. This annual membership includes an online system for the Board’s policies and administrative procedures.
NEW BUSINESS
A+ Partnership Plan.
The Board approved the A+ Partnership Plan as presented. Ste. Genevieve High School Assistant Principal Mr. Dustin Schnable provided an overview of the A+ Partnership Program. Thanks to programs like Dragons Den and events like Kindergarten Registration, students work toward reaching their tutoring goals. This year, out of 118 students in the senior class, 19 graduated with A+ honors, and of those students, 14 will use A+ tuition. There were 20 freshmen in the program this year, 34 sophomores and 59 juniors. Mr. Schnable discussed plans for presenting this program to incoming freshmen and their parents at Freshmen Orientation in the fall.
Transportation.
After extensive deliberation and careful consideration, the Board approved the district to develop and enter into a contract to purchase the bus fleet, property and Bus Barn from Fallert Bus Service, and incorporate transportation into existing district operations.
SG R-II and Fallert Bus Service are currently in the second year of a five-year contract that was approved by the Board of Education on April 19, 2022. Earlier this school year, Fallert Bus Service representatives expressed their desire to retire before the current contract expires, preferably at the end of the current school year.
Fallert Bus Service owners Brad and Christy Moll were in attendance at the Board meeting. Dr. Taylor shared that over the past several decades, Fallert Bus, Inc. has been a reliable partner through a variety of challenges. “In the end, we decided that it would be in the district’s best interest to purchase the facility and fleet and bring transportation in-house,” he said. “Our relationship with Fallert Bus Service has been decades-long. They have been fantastic partners. They have worked with us every time an issue arose, and have worked so hard to run a quality transportation service for our students and families.”
Dr. Taylor pointed out that this news may come as a surprise to many, and there were a variety of reasons that the district was unable to share information earlier. This was an unanticipated situation for this school year, and the district needed time to investigate options, enlist experts, and identify the best path forward. Also, this will be a drastic change for current Fallert Bus Service’s employees, including drivers, mechanics, office staff, and others. It was important for the district to be able to share this information with them first, in order to answer as many of their questions as possible and hopefully minimize any anxiety related to this change.
Making the Decision
Dr. Taylor shared the decision-making process involved evaluating various scenarios, including: 1) whether the district could post a Request for Proposals for outside transportation services to step in for next year; 2) whether another company might purchase Fallert Bus Service and its operation and then offer services to the district; 3) whether the district could take on transportation services itself; 4) or if some combination of the above could be identified and adopted.
After months of careful consideration, it was determined that the best course of action for the district would be to self manage transportation services. The following highlight the reasoning behind this recommendation:
- The district will be able to efficiently and effectively transition operations while maintaining the high-quality service our families rely on.
- This enables us to retain valuable Fallert Bus Service employees with extensive knowledge and experience in transportation.
- It provides us with financial stability and control over future transportation costs, safeguarding against potential increases from unaffiliated external providers who are not local.
- The majority of rural school districts today manage their own transportation services. Within the MAAA schools of which the district is a member, all of the districts manage their own transportation.
Current Fallert Bus Service Employees
District administration met with Mr. and Mrs. Moll, as well as all of the Fallert Bus Service employees, prior to the Board meeting in order to share the news and answer as many of their questions as possible. Dr. Taylor shared that the district would hire a Director of Transportation, who would spend the first year learning the ropes. He stressed that the priority is to learn how things are currently managed before making any changes. Any changes the first year would be requirements either from DESE or state statute— a public school district running its own transportation has requirements tha private companies contracting transportation services do not. Dr. Taylor also shared that the district will be proactive in communicating with transportation employees as we move forward.
What about nonpublic transportation?
Dr. Taylor stressed that the decision to recommend the integration of transportation was not made lightly. “I did everything I could to identify a better option, because one of the consequences of Missouri public school districts running in-house transportation is not being able to transport nonpublic students. This would be a violation of the Missouri Constitution, and the decision has also been upheld in subsequent court cases.
“This was not something that we were looking to do,” he said. “It was absolutely not our choice. Our nonpublic school districts have been good partners with us for many, many years. If we had the choice, we would partner with them and continue to transport their students.”
Last week, Dr. Taylor met with Father Nemeth, president of Valle Catholic Schools, to explain the situation and how the district’s integration of transportation would affect our nonpublic partners. Father Nemeth has since shared the news with Valle Catholic families, and we appreciate their team’s understanding. Dr. Taylor also spoke with Michelle Otte, principal at St. Agnes School.
Dr. Taylor shared with them that we are committed to assisting in any other way possible. The district will include our nonpublic partners in any conversations regarding surplus buses, and will also check into whether it would be possible for the district to offer space and maintenance for transportation vehicles owned by other entities.
Taking on Transportation Financially
- District administration spent months investigating the following items: working with Fallert Bus Service to determine property value and fleet value; surveying surrounding districts to develop appropriate operational cost analyses; enlisting the help of DESE to determine anticipated transportation reimbursements and funding; consulting our law firm to ensure the district is operating within the proper parameters; and working with LJ Hart, the district’s financial advisor, to determine if taking on this service is possible, and how to ensure that this move creates the least financial burden possible going forward.
- The district is considering a five-year lease-purchase agreement to purchase the property, the Bus Barn and the fleet. This softens the financial impact by spreading out the payments in order to absorb the expenditure over a period of time.
- Taylor shared that over the last several years, prior district administrators worked to increase our fund balances as best they could in anticipation of future financial challenges (including ongoing tax protests by LafargeHolcim, Mississippi Lime and Lhoist, where a large portion of tax monies are being held in escrow rather than disbursed to the district and other taxing entities). “We need to be prepared to support our assessor and the other taxing entities in those legal battles,” he said. “That’s not going away. But there are some reserve funds that we can utilize for annual operational costs and to address the aging fleet if need be.”
- The district is estimating a roughly $500,000 deficit the first year, which includes that high estimate of $1.7 million for operational expenses. This budget is also dependent on funds reimbursed through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for transportation (this was fully funded at 75% this past year, but is not set going forward.) “My approach is to maintain what prior superintendents have done, and that is to be aggressive with expenditures projections and conservative with revenue projections.”
A Better Position for the Future
Dr. Taylor stressed that taking on transportation services is the best route for our students and for our district as a whole, not only right now, but in the future. We can ensure that the district has control over transportation costs down the line, which in turn will save our taxpayers money. There is value in owning the property, as well as the Bus Barn. This purchase offers the district options in the future— If later on, the district were to decide to publish an RFP and utilize an external company for transportation services, we could do so, while continuing to own the property and Bus Barn. This would ensure that the district retains some control over any future contract, as an external service would be utilizing our spaces and property. “Fallert Bus Service is a hometown company, they’re hometown people, they’re dedicated, we know them,” Dr. Taylor said. “With an outside entity coming in, we wouldn’t know what we were getting. We might get a good deal for the first year or two, but what do we do after that?”
Next Steps
Moving forward through the summer and approaching the next school year, we will keep transportation employees and families updated on any developments and address any questions or concerns that may arise. The district plans to hire a Transportation Director, and plans to enter into a consultation contract with Mr. Moll for the first year, so that he can provide guidance and share historical knowledge about how the company has operated.
Thank You, Fallert Bus Service
The Board thanked Mr. and Mrs. Moll and all Fallert Bus Service staff for all of their hard work and dedication over the years. Board President David Bova also thanked them for approaching the district before any other outside entities, so that the Board had the opportunity to make a decision regarding transportation.
“We appreciate the district, the staff and the Boards we’ve worked with,” Mr. Moll said. “We’ve worked with several superintendents— over 24 years— and we’ve had a great working relationship. But the time has come that we have to make this move. We appreciate you considering it, we hope you are able to take it on, and we want you to succeed at it. We want to make it a smooth transition, get it all lined out with you. We appreciate you working with us and the good 24 years that we’ve had. We thank you very much.”
Transportation Director Position.
The Board approved the addition of a Transportation Director position for the 2024-2025 school year. This position is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the transportation department, including managing personnel, coordinating routes, ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations, and maintaining the district’s fleet of vehicles. Dr. Taylor shared with the Board that in the interim, district administration will continue to work with Fallert Bus Service to plan and prepare for the transition until a quality candidate can step in to take on this responsibility. This will be a 12-month position.
Food Service Prices for 2024-25.
The Board of Education approved the food service prices for the 2024-2025 school year. The presented food service prices do not include a confirmed update on adult prices.
- If families completed the 2023-2024 Free & Reduced Lunch application before the end of the school year, there is a 30-day grace period at the start of the upcoming school year to complete the 2024-2025 application.
- Families should complete the 2024-2025 Free & Reduced Lunch application, which will be available on the district’s website and in the Power School Parent portal after July 1, 2024, and will also be shared with families in the district’s summer mailer. All families are encouraged to complete an online application instead of a paper application if they are able. The online application will be available under Forms, 24-25 Free/Reduced Lunch Application. We will share several reminders with families over the summer. For assistance or questions, please call 573-883-4500 ext. 2008.
Due to federal pricing requirements, the district is required to increase the full-pay student breakfast and lunch prices by $0.10 for the 2024-2025 school year. However, reduced breakfast and lunch prices did not increase from the 2019-2020 rate. The prices for the 2024-2025 school year are:
- Elementary: Reduced Breakfast: $0.30; Full Pay Breakfast: $1.90; Reduced Lunch: $0.40; Full Pay Lunch: $3.20.
- MS/HS: Reduced Breakfast: $0.30; Full Pay Breakfast: $1.90; Reduced Lunch: $0.40; Full Pay Lunch: $3.30.
- The adult prices for breakfast and lunch will be determined and shared soon.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The next Board of Education meeting will be a Regularly Scheduled Meeting on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at 6:30 p.m.