Board Discusses Student Activities
At the Dec. 10 meeting of the McDonald County R-1 School District Board of Education, the board discussed extracurricular activities at the high school in relation to quarantining and virtual school.
Superintendent Mark Stanton pointed out the board recently passed a mask mandate for classes that transition in hopes of cutting down on quarantining but noted there have been questions about extracurricular activities. He said the rule is that if a student is not in school, they cannot participate. Originally, he said, students had to be on campus at least two periods in order to participate. He asked whether the board needed to explore a virtual or hybrid option.
Board President Frank Woods said, among the activities available at this time of year are drama, archery, band, wrestling and skills competitions. There are “tons of kids doing tons of things,” he said, and missing the activities could affect scholarships.
“It’s not just sports, and I’m a sports guy,” he said.
High School Principal Angie Brewer said she visited with the co-curricular teachers and they did not support students participating in extracurricular activities if they are schooled virtually. She said the band director told her “you can’t just blow horns and
hope for the best — they have to practice together.”
She said an agriculture teacher told her students have to be taught by a certified agriculture teacher. She said art teachers pointed out students do not have kilns, for example, at home, and coaches want students at school for weight training.
“We’ve been talking a lot about what we can do to keep people eligible. It’s important to them,” she said. “We want to be creative and help kids. We want our kids in school to participate.”
“We’re going to find creative ways to work within the system we have to keep our kids safe from covid-19 but also in school and eligible for extracurricular activities,” she added.
The board took no action. Woods told the board that there is a national trend to move school board elections to November. He said the Missouri School Boards Association believes it would draw the elections into partisan politics and make them more expensive for school board candidates. He said he likes having the elections in the spring because there are so many events in the spring. He noted the national trend exists because it is believed more people would vote and make the election more representative of the electorate.
Board Member Dennis Bergen said voters who vote in the spring are going to the polls because they want to vote for school board, whereas those who come in November might be less informed about the school board election.
Board Treasurer Chris
Smith agreed there would be fewer informed voters in November.
Woods said he would express that the board is against moving elections to November.
Stanton announced he had talked with the budget subcommittee and come up with an amount for a Christmas stipend of $600 for every full-time employee and $300 for every half-time employee.
“I appreciate all my staff, teachers — everything everybody has done from March 13 ’til now. It’s hard to find ways to express,” he said.
He added families are going through a hard time and the school means a lot to the community.
“There’s no way to put a dollar amount on the kindness,” he said.
The board approved the Christmas stipend.
In other business, Woods announced that the McDonald County R- 1 Schools Foundation has canceled its annual banquet in February, which is its major fundraiser. He said the foundation will be working toward other ways to raise funds.