Action - Blue Springs Board of Education

The Blue Springs Board of Education usually meets the first and second Monday of each month. Because of scheduling conflicts, the board met Aug. 25, 2008, and took the following action (all actions were unanimous unless otherwise noted):

• Discussed orientation activities. In addition to a breakfast, new staff members had four days of orientation activities to prepare them for the new school year. There was also a districtwide convocation as well as activities for classified staff members.
• Heard an end-of-the-year report on the homeless program. During the 2007-08 school year, there were 32 students who qualified as being homeless. Scott Young, assistant to the superintendent, said support has been received from the community to help the students. This includes IMPACT Ministries, which donated backpacks to the district. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary education is also offering backpacks to help students begin the new year.
• Approved the 2008-09 property tax levy. The total levy will be $5.53 per $100 of assessed valuation.
• Approved the 2008-09 budget. The budget includes $162.97 million in expenditures and only $160.30 million in revenue. That reflects a deficit budget of $2.67 million, which will come from the district’s reserve funds. The budget includes 18 new staff positions to help maintain class size as well as the addition of a new social studies instructional coach at the high school level. The base teacher’s salary will also increase from $33,500 to $34,000 and additional increases have been included at various points in next year’s salary schedule. Teachers move up on the schedule based on the number of years in the school district and the number of graduate hours taken.
• Approved one student trip request for the Blue Springs South A Cappella Choir to attend a workshop and perform at the South Street Seaport and St. John the Divine in New York, N.Y., in April 2009.
• Approved one bid. This is for the Vocational-Technical Education Enhancement Grant. According to the grant’s guidelines, the district is required to meet a minimum of $200 per unit when purchasing equipment and furniture. The grant reimburses the district 75-percent for equipment and 50-percent for all others. Approved expenditures were $444,905 with reimbursement from the grant being $315,167.
• Approved the use of facsimile signatures in lieu of manual signatures on certain instruments of payments. Adoption of this resolution is needed each year to authorize the use of facsimile signatures of the president or treasurer of the board.
• Approved the employment of Julie Anwander, elementary; Tamara Atwell, Cordill-Mason; Jamie Barbour, Hall-McCarter Education Center; Amanda Beggs, John Nowlin; Allison Gardner, Sunny Pointe and Jeremy Plummer, Cordill-Mason.

– Kelly Evenson