H1N1, Stet and SROs topics at Board of Ed
, News reporter
10-15-2009
It was a very full agenda for the Richmond board of education last night at the district office.
Among the topics presented, the status of H1N1 in Richmond. The district now has just six confirmed cases of H1N1 – two at Sunrise Elementary and four at RHS, according to Jayanna Harrison, RN. Harrison attended training with other health departments and commented that the Richmond school district is “lucky.” She said Grain Valley and Grandview school districts each had several hundred students out with either influenza or H1N1.
“Stacey Cox (of the Ray County Health Dept.) is helping to keep the schools updated,” said Harrison. “It’s important to communicate with parents and teachers. We expect the attendance levels will drop through the winter. It’s cooling off and now is the best time to get it. If you test positive for Influenza A, there’s a 98 percent chance you’ll have H1N1.”
The board talked about the letter regarding the first case of H1N1, a student at RHS, and mentioned the reaction of the local hospital.
“They were upset because of the letter from the school,” said Harrison, as the board discussed the importance of being open with the parents and public.
“We’re working with the kids on hand washing, and reminding teachers to wipe down their desks. We tell them not to share pencils, pens, or markers, and teachers not to put kids in groups, and we’re encouraging no sleepovers right now,” Harrison said.
She went on to say, “The staff that wanted the (seasonal) flu shots got them, but the health department is out of flu shots as of today (Oct. 12). The H1N1 vaccine is not in yet. I strongly suggest the nurses get the H1N1 vaccine, especially at the elementary level.”
She said Steve Sellers, assistant principal at Sunrise, suggested a second letter be sent to parents regarding what the district is doing to stay on top of the flu situation.
Superintendent Jim Robins asked the board for their input concerning a second letter and whether it would cause undo concern. The board unanimously approved sending a second letter, citing that being open with the parents and the community was vital. It was also suggested to have information available during upcoming parent/teacher conferences on Oct. 29-30.
Harrison reiterated that if teachers or students are sick, they shouldn’t come to school, saying that Lafayette Regional is telling patients with fevers that they can’t return to work or school for seven days.
“We’re seeing students with fevers, sore throats and coughs,” she said, and turning to Coach Ken Simmons added, “Wrestling season is coming up and it’s a close contact sport. We may see an increase in flu at the high school and Little League.”
The district budget was also brought up. Superintendent Robins said the district saved $270,000 through staff attrition and has made steps and cuts to control other expenses in this year’s budget. This discussion led to the situation of Stet School.
Robins asked the board about a tuition for Stet students desiring to attend Richmond schools. Bus transportation, the time students would spend on the bus, and what options Stet has were discussed.
Donnie Fowler of Fowler Bus Co., brought a map of the county school districts and pointed out how large the Richmond school district is.
“We pass two different buses that belong to Stet. We pick up on one side of the road and they’re on the other,” Fowler said. “To pick up the kids on that route, our driver leaves at 5:45 a.m. and the first kid is picked up at 6:10 a.m.”
Board members discussed that students in Missouri City have three different districts to choose to attend – Orrick, Excelsior Springs or Liberty.
Fowler reminded the board that sometimes the families don’t get a choice on where their children attend.
“In 1968, the state chose the boundaries for Henrietta and Rayville. People think Richmond did it, but it was the state,” he said. It was mentioned that if Stet remains a K-6 or K-8 school, that students would then be able to attend the district of their choice as the school would not be dissolved.
Richey commented that, if Stet students are allowed to come to Richmond on a tuition, it could reopen the issue of open enrollment. Board member Gwen Weate said that this was a different situation, with Stet students facing the closing of their school versus someone just wanting to send their child to a different school.
Tuition was again brought up as board member Dale Minnick wanted to know why Polo’s $7,600 per student was so high, and was reminded that Missouri does not regulate tuition amounts.
The board will consider the information regarding tuition costs as well as concerns surrounding the time these students would spend on the bus. This will be discussed in more detail at the Nov. 10 board meeting.
In other discussions, a School Resource Officer has returned to the district. Officer Tracy Rogers is based at Richmond Middle School, as of Oct. 7, and is available for all four schools at this point. She started last week, but as of yet no salary has been set.
“There’s no set money figure,” said Weate, who is on the SRO Committee. “We still need a hard dollar figure. The paper reported $60,000, but we talked about $30,000 because it was in the budget last year.” The $60,000 figure was mentioned regarding two SROs, but no action was taken.
Robins said the district is being billed monthly, and hopes to possibly get the second SRO after the first of the year at second semester. Since Rogers just started, there is no cost to the district for Aug. or Sept., and the monthly bill will be pro-rated at one-fourth of the cost of one officer, Robins said, for a maximum of $30,000.
Board members present were: Chris Minnick, president, Connie Taylor, vice-president, Brad Richey, treasurer and board members Gwen Weate, Steve Rittmiller and Dale Vandiver. Board member John Scowley was excused.
More school board discussion will be in Thursday’s edition of The Daily News.
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