SOCSD gives learning option numbers, budget approved

Several aspects of the Starkville-oktibbeha Consolidated School District’s return to school amid COVID-19 came to light at its August board meeting Tuesday Night.

The Starkville-oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees discussed several plans for the coming school year, which will begin on Aug. 24. Superintendent Eddie Peasant gave several details of the district’s plans and numbers heading into the school year. These included the figures for learning options at all of the district’s schools.

“We have about 1,000 students who have not registered district-wide, so we’re working through the principals to try to get all those families registered,” Peasant said.

The current tally for Sudduth Elementary is 140 kindergarteners doing virtual learning and 233 traditional. In first grade, 149 students will do virtual learning and 227 traditional. All 60 prek students at Sudduth will attend traditionally.

At Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School, 128 second graders will attend virtually, while 218 will attend traditionally. The total number of third graders attending virtually is 152, with 189 attending traditionally. In fourth grade, 149 students will attend virtually and 220 traditionally.

Overstreet Elementary reported that 141 of its fifth graders will attend school virtually, while 217 will attend traditionally.

At the Partnership Middle School, 152 sixth graders will attend via the virtual option and 236 will attend traditionally. The numbers for seventh grade were similar with 152 attending virtually and 256 traditionally.

Armstrong Junior High School’s numbers showed 227 eighth graders choosing traditional school, 122 choosing virtual and 49 choosing the hybrid option. In ninth grade, 203 chose traditional, 122 virtual and 40 hybrid.

At Starkville High School, 120 sophomores chose the virtual option, 133 chose the traditional option and 67 chose hybrid classes. Among the junior class, 95 chose virtual, 79 chose traditional and 69 chose hybrid. In the senior class, 68 chose virtual, 87 chose traditional and 73 chose hybrid. The school also reported that 287 students did not respond by the Aug. 7 deadline and would be put into the traditional group.

Virtual and traditional students at the elementary level will be taught in separate classes.

Peasant also discussed a 10-day extension granted to school districts by the Mississippi Department of Education, exempting them from the 180-day requirement by up to 10 days. The board unanimously approved a change to the district’s academic calendar in light of the change.

“The state board approval was up to 10 days, and we’re going to take the whole 10 days, that way we keep our end date the same for our students,” Peasant said.

However, the district will not be exempt from the 187-day requirement for fully paying its teachers, as such, the last day for teachers will now be June 11, 2021.

“However, the state board is going to meet and discuss some of this on the 27th of this month,” Peasant said. “I have a meeting tomorrow to get some information on that from our state superintendents advisory committee.”

The board also unanimously approved the district’s 2020-2021 budget as one of the financial items. The approval comes the day after the Mississippi State Legislature overrode Republican Gov. Tate Reeves’ veto of the state education budget.