The Fulton School District 58 Board of Education heard from director of transportation Bryan Abbott at its Wednesday meeting.
Abbott discussed the draft of the bus training manual required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for new regulations set to begin February 7, 2022.
"Every school district," Abbott said. "Everyone out there having to do this is, having to do it on their own. You have to self certify but the thing you need to understand is the only way we can get or train drivers is they have to have a TPR number. The TPR number comes from a certifed trainer, which is us, you can no longer just go get a CDL. Februrary 7 is the deadline as of right now but good luck getting a test because we got one going to make it two weeks and that's the earliest we could get."
The board heard from director of health services Lauren Jacobs, who gave an update on the district's COVID-19 status. As of Wednesday, the district has 57 positive cases, which has been the most since the pandemic.
After some debate, the board decided to amend the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan to adopt option 2, the Callaway County Health Department option, with the positivity rates in green zone 0-3 percent, yellow zone 3.1- 6 percent and red zone 6.1 and above, effective immediately.
Meaning, the district will constantly monitor the number of positive cases occurring within the individual school buildings. Based on the building's positivity rate it will fall into 1 of 3 levels (green, yellow or red) each level will have corresponding mitigation protocols. For more information, visit the updated plan on the district's website.
The board approved a resolution, as presented, authorizing and directing the issuance and delivery of $10 million principal amount of General Obligation Bonds as well as a resolution authorizing participation in the Missouri Capital Asset Advantage Treasury (MOCAAT) Program and execute the Instrument of Adoption, which is an authorized investment fund program.
Board members also approve the 2022-2023 district calendar, which meets the calendar requirements of RSMO 171.031.1 and approved the 2023-2024 preliminary district calendar as well as adopted the Missouri School Boards' Association 2021C Policies BBB, DCB and KKB.
They also heard from director of special services and federal programs, Cheri Fortney, will speak on differentiated instruction and special services.
Fortney discussed with the board the services provided to at-risk students, students who are gifted/talented, those with limited English, migratory students and homeless students. The district has different criteria they follow for all of these and tries to make sure those students who need in those programs are. They also offer a gifted alternative identification that will allow more students to take advantage of the services provided.
Representatives, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Chris Hubbach and Assistant High School Principal Mr. Josh Pierce, from the district attendance committee provided an update about historical attendance patterns, current rates of student attendance, and action steps for continuous improvement.
Their goal is to make school and enjoyable place for students, to make them want to continue to come to school and engage with them and parents about why the student may not be attending and help them find a solution.
Hubbach provided updates within the district. District and school data from the 2020-21 school year related to college and career readiness and the graduation rate will be embargoed until the release of the District Report Card, as required by state and federal law, on December 1. DESE recently provided districts with a secure release of the preliminary 2021 Social Studies Assessment Data. This includes participation and achievement data from the Government EOC test last spring. An ELA curriculum writing orientation was held on October 25 with representatives from grades K-5. The team will meet again on November 29, January 3 and March 14 to discuss progress. Additional content areas will be engaged in curriculum development this year including K-12 fine arts, 6-12 ELA and personal finance. And finally, the district equity team reconvened earlier this month to reflect on the team's summer training and progress during the first quarter.
The next regular scheduled school board meeting is at 7 p.m. Dec. 8 in the Fulton High School library/media center.