STE. GENEVIEVE — This information includes highlights from the Ste. Genevieve R-II Board of Education’s March 15, 2022, Regular Meeting. This is an unofficial record. The official Board News is posted on the district website and will be located on BoardDocs, linked here. The video of the meeting can be found on the district’s Youtube Channel, SGDragonsTV.
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.
- In recognition of Board Appreciation Week, SGHS Senior Paul Ahrens thanked the district’s two Board members who are not seeking re-election, Mr. Terry McDaniel and Mr. Rick Rudloff, for their hard work over their tenure on the Board. He also thanked the other five members of the Board for their dedication to the district, as well as the Board candidates who attended the meeting.
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
Kindergarten Registration.
Kindergarten Registration for the 2022-2023 school year will take place the following dates and times:
- Genevieve Elementary: Saturday, March 19, 2022, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Bloomsdale Elementary: Saturday, April 2, 2022, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Parents may contact the elementary offices to schedule appointments:
- Genevieve Elementary: 573-883-4500 ext. 3
- Bloomsdale Elementary: 573-883-4500 ext. 4
MAP End of Course Exams.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Paul Taylor reviewed the testing window for the MAP End of Course Exams, which will be April 5, through May 5, 2022.
High School End of Course Exams:
- April 5, 2022
- English I – 9th grade
- English II – 10th grade
- ACT Test – 11th grade
- April 29 through May 5, 2022
- Algebra
- Biology
- Government
MAP Grade Level Assessments.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Paul Taylor reviewed the testing window for the MAP Grade Level Assessments:
- Bloomsdale Elementary: April 26, 2022 through May 11, 2022
- Genevieve Elementary: April 25, 2022 through May 13, 2022
- Genevieve Middle School: April 5, 2022 through May 12, 2022
Annual School Board Election — April 5, 2022.
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 5, 2022 election. The expiring terms for Board members are Mr. Terry McDaniel and Mr. Richard Rudloff. Filing ended on Dec. 28 at 5 p.m. Five applicants have filed a declaration of candidacy for the Board of Education. In the order of filing, they include: Jamie (Naeger) Ballew, Michael Stoll, Larry Pfaff, Joshua Gettinger, Samuel Barbagallo, and Bradley (Brad) Arnold.
21-22 Retirement & Recognition Banquet.
The district will host a 2021-2022 SG R-II Retirement and Recognition Banquet this year! The event has been on hold the past two years due to the pandemic. We’re very excited to bring it back and have a celebration of our staff members who have retired the past few years. The banquet will be held Friday, May 13, 2022 at 6 p.m. at the Ste. Genevieve Elks Lodge #2674. Employees will receive invitations soon.
Principal Reports.
Each building principal reported on a variety of teacher and student accomplishments.
Safety Reports.
Safety drills from each building were reviewed.
Notes:
Prop SG. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Paul Taylor gave an overview of Prop SG. After nearly two years of long-range facility planning, discussions and feedback through the Facilities Committee, the Board of Education voted to place Prop SG, a no-tax rate increase bond referendum in the amount of $20 million, on the April 5, 2022 ballot.
The purpose of Prop SG is to help fund facility needs identified through our district’s long-range Facilities Plan. If passed, the bond issue will allow for an Early Childhood Center, as well as accessibility, safety and security, and activities renovations and additions throughout the district. These are our focus areas we hope to accomplish for our students and for our community. Community members can see an overview of the Prop SG priorities on the district’s website!
“This is re-energizing, because we get to talk about the hopes for our district, the possibilities for our district — improving education and our facilities, making it safer, making it more accessible,” Dr. Taylor said. “It’s been great for me as a professional educator going through this process, and I look forward to continuing this process.”
He reminded attendees that this is a no-tax rate increase bond issue on the April 5, 2022 ballot.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Instructional Program Presentation — Elementary Music.
Our two elementary level music teachers, Mrs. Lacey Bauman and Mr. Dillon Friedmeyer, presented educational programming and learning opportunities that make up their music classes! The presentations are included below:
- Lacey Bauman
- Dillon Friedmeyer
School Calendar for 2022-2023.
The Board of Education approved a revision to the 2022-2023 calendar, as there was a mistake on the scheduling of Easter Break. The amended calendar shows early dismissal on April 5, 2023 at 1 p.m. to begin Easter Break. There will be no school April 6 – 10 for Easter Break, and classes will resume on April 11, 2023.
Reopening Plan.
The Board of Education approved updates to the 2021-2022 Reopening Plan, including the following:
- Masks and Buses: On Feb. 25, the CDC announced new guidance regarding required masks on public transportation, including school buses. According to the new guidance, masking is not a recommended prevention measure in counties where the COVID19 Community Level is at low or medium. However, additional prevention measures are still recommended in community settings such as schools, which can include physical distancing, contact tracing, and other measures. Masks are no longer required on SG R-II buses, as our county is currently not identified as a high level for COVID.
- MSHSAA Return to Play: As of March 2, 2022, MSHSAA is no longer requiring student athletes to have a formal medical screening prior to returning to sports participation following COVID infection. The original intent of the screening by a medical professional was to assess for the possible complication of myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle, that can lead to exercise intolerance and the ability of the heart to function normally. As we have moved through 2 years of the pandemic, MSHSAA shared that it seems that the risk of myocarditis is less than first estimated. However, there will still be a Covid-19 RTP Form that must be completed by the student athlete, parent/guardian and school personnel for any student athlete that tests positive or is symptomatic for Covid-19. Furthermore, a 5 day/step RTP progression also remains in place for those student athletes who test positive or are symptomatic for Covid-19.
The health and safety processes and procedures included in this Reopening Plan have been crafted with the recommendations and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and are subject to adjustment as local conditions change. We will continually evaluate this plan and integrate updates to reflect changing local conditions and evolving recommendations from the state and federal level.
We will continue to monitor local conditions, including positivity rates, and may return to a more strict stance if circumstances warrant such a decision.
NEW BUSINESS
Insurance Rates for the 2022-23 School Year.
The Board approved the health, dental, vision and life insurance rates for the 2022-23 school year. The Mineral Area Health Consortium (of which the district is a member) will be switching health insurance back to UnitedHealthCare (UHC), and dental and vision back to SunLife. All coverages and services are to remain the same as our current Anthem plans.
This year, Anthem began negotiations with a 15% increase for their renewal rates. Wallstreet, the Consortium’s broker, negotiated this down to a 6.6% increase, which the Consortium agreed was unacceptable. This proposed increase was a shock, as our consortium was doing so well this year.
The MAHC voted unanimously to put our insurance packages out for bid, and United HealthCare immediately matched our current plans. For the plans that Ste. Genevieve County R-II has offered to employees for many years, we are actually going to experience a reduction in our rates for these same plans. Moving forward with the same plans and same covering under United Healthcare, the district will save about $180,000.
This information was shared with the SG R-II Insurance Committee, who unanimously voted to present this decision to the Board and recommend that it be approved.