After 15 years on Fulton’s Board of Education, Rodney Latty stepped down Wednesday night as the board welcomed the newly elected Verdis Lee Sr. into the fold.
The district gave Latty a plaque to show its appreciation, and Latty spoke a few words of gratitude to the many people he had the pleasure of working with over the years. Of the teachers, he spoke with particular admiration.
“No one could have more respect for what you do,†Latty said.
Lee was joined by re-elected veteran board member Andy Bonderer in a swearing-in ceremony before the entity reorganized itself, electing Kevin Habjan as president and Bonderer as vice president. Todd Gray will take over as secretary, and Nicole (Jackie) Hudson will act as treasurer.
Other business at hand Wednesday night included reports from robotics team sponsor Jim Hall and Socratic seminars sponsor Melody Hapner, and a brief discussion concerning St. Peter School students who are interested in participating in junior high girls softball with the startup program at Fulton Middle School this coming fall.
Superintendent Jacque Cowherd spoke to school finances including the fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2017 budgets and assessed valuation stemming from tax increment financing (TIF), which is imposed when a city project takes precedence in tax fund allocations. When a TIF is in place, tax funds are directed away from the school district and into the projects.
There are three TIFs currently in place: the 1996 Tanglewood project, the 1998 Dollar General project and the 2007 Fulton Commons project. The Tanglewood and the Dollar General TIFs will be dissolved in 2016 and 2017, allowing tax funds to be redirected back to the district. Cowherd estimates an accumulated $480,495 net revenue increase between fiscal years 2016 and 2018.
The board also voted to pass policy updates as recommended by the Missouri School Boards’ Association (MSBA), as well as one coming from the district.
The district proposed that anyone wishing to participate in the public comment portion of the meetings must notify the district office by noon on the date of the board meeting, which moves it up from the 4 p.m. deadline of the past.
Updates recommended by MSBA included a broad stretch of subjects ranging from the move toward eco-friendly, less toxic pesticide treatments to the inclusion of teaching students the dangers of online sexual predators when using the Internet, which was included under the auspices of the ‘teaching about human sexuality’ heading.
The meeting rounded out by reports from Dan Hedgpath, director of technology, and Tim Echelmeier, director of buildings and grounds.