2019 ALUMNI WALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
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Julia Farrell Bargman, Patsy Shepherd Cafferata, and Dr. Bradford Keeney will join the ranks as the seventh group of inductees in Smithville Schools Distinguished Alumni Wall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be held on Friday, September 27, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. The induction will take place at the Stadium prior to the start of the Homecoming football game.
Smithville Schools Wall of Fame honors some of the district's most outstanding graduates who have distinguished themselves and contributed to society in an exemplary fashion. There success serves as motivation and inspiration to all associated with the district.
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These are the highlights from the September 18th meeting of the Smithville School District Board of Education (BOE).
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- Approve Bills for Payment
- Revised Contract Service Agreement with Turner Vision & Mobility Services
- Approve Local Compliance Plan
- Approve Third Reading of 2019A Policy Revision
- Supplemental Pay for September
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Maple Elementary Presentation
Dr. Rena Hawkins and Maple Elementary students and staff presented information on Developing Assessment Capable Learners which is a priority in the district this year. Angel Garrett, Kindergarten teacher, and her current students,
Marshall Dunn and Addison Haggerty, and former student, Clayton Hon,
demonstrated proficiency scales that have been developed to help students understand behavior and learning expectations by identifying what success looks like in kid-friendly terms.
Sara Freeman, Technology and Innovation teacher, presented with some 6th grade students who have used student-developed rubrics to guide student projects. Chloe Easton shared that having the success criteria defined in the rubric allowed her to create the best project because she knew upfront what the expectations were. Kate Crim explained the rubrics and success criteria helps to promote a growth mindset in students. Just because you are two now doesn’t mean that you cannot grow to a three!
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Board Priorities
- The State of our Community Dinner took place on September 12 (BOE Priority #1).
- DLR has scheduled the second and third public meetings on September 25 and October 10 to gather input for the Master Building Plan (BOE Priority #2).
- The Rounding activity is well underway and is going very well (BOE Priority #3).
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Comments from the Assistant Superintendent from Support Services
Mr. Wayne Krueger
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Mr. Krueger provided the Board with an update on the Master Planning and Facilities Assessment process being led by DLR Group. The first public meeting was held on August 28th at which participants were asked to vision what students may need to be successful in 30 years and what schools may need to offer to be successful for the next 30 years from a facilities standpoint. The next scheduled meeting is on Wednesday, September 25th followed by Thursday, October 10th. The group is working towards a goal of having a presentation for the Board by late fall.
In the August issue of American School and University magazine, Eagle Height Elementary was recognized for outstanding design for a common area.
The caption reads,
"Eagle Heights fosters the Smithville School District's pedagogy of collaborative learning, team teaching, project-based learning, meaningful flexibility and future adaptability. The media center, makers lab, creative commons cafeteria and collaboration nooks are close to one another and create the core of the building. Folding glass walls, garage doors and abundant windows support educational synergy, flexibility and observation. The cafeteria is adjacent to the media center, separated by two overhead garage doors. This design enables educators to determine the level of interaction. They can achieve a high Sound Transmission Class rating by closing the doors during busy lunch hours, the cafeteria can be integrated into the media center throughout the rest of the day. The makers lab and creative commons are across the main corridor from the media center. They become one large space when the foldable glass walls are opened. Collaboration nooks are dispersed throughout the school and can be accessed from the corridor or directly from classrooms via glass overhead doors. Each nook features flexible furniture, writable surfaces, easily accessible technology and abundant light."
Mr. Krueger and Mr. Fries presented Mrs. Schrage with a plaque.
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Comments from the Assistant Superintendent from Academic Services
Dr. Michelle Kratofil
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Michelle Kratofil shared with the Board that district staff completed All Stars Training on Wednesday. All Stars is a evidence-based alcohol, tobacco and other drug curriculum which will be implemented in grades 6 and 7 this year. This curriculum was provided through a grant written by the Smithville Community in Action Committee.
Last week, Dr. Kratofil attended a
memorandum of understanding signing
with Missouri State University, one of the district’s dual credit partners. Starting second semester, MSU will grant free college credit to any student enrolled who qualifies for lunch assistance. This is a very generous commitment by MSU which will benefit Smithville students greatly.
The district recently
announced
that 59 current students and recent graduates have been recognized as AP Scholars by the College Board. This distinction is based upon repeated high performance on Advanced Placement assessments taken in May each year.
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Comments from the Audience
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Martha Harris addressed the Board to introduce herself as the MNEA staff member assigned to support staff in our district.
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District Finances and
Accounting
Mr. Krueger shared general financial information with the Board and highlighted that financially the district has some work to do to comply with BOE Policy DIAA related to reserve balance ratios. Currently, the district has a Fund 10/20 reserve balance of 17.12% and BOE policy requires balances to maintain between 21-26%. Mr. Krueger also shared that a second budget revision would be presented in October for consideration that contained updated student enrollment, assessed valuation, the new tax rate, and adjustments on the salary scheduled for staff who earned graduate hours.
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During the month of August, we received $1,348,239.72; making a total of $2,528,053.27 received since July 1, 2019.
Expenditures for August were $2,435,340.08 making a total of $3,843,748.06 expended since July 1, 2019.
Patrons can access the revenue report, expenditure report, and check register for the district on the district
webpage
under Departments and Business & Finance.
The current district enrollment is 2,649.
Ashley Jones requested the Board approve revisions to the supplemental pay schedule due to the Elementary Teacher Leader Reconfiguration for 2019-2020 and the addition of secondary PLC leader. Revisions include the following positions: District PLC Leader Grades 5-6: 1 Building Team Meeting Only, PLC Leader Specials, and Secondary PLC Leader.
Dr. Schuetz shared that it is his expectation that the ExcellenceK12 survey will give some insight as to the public’s perception of the district’s fiscal management. He expects to receive a report by October 1.
Darren Shaffer updated the Board on the work of a sub-committee that met to consider feedback from the Board’s August meeting. Sarah Lamer and Ian Saxton both suggested that there be no punitive consequences for a first offense. Dr. Tracy Platt, high school principal, responded that the goal of the high school is to be restorative and preventative. Consequently, the committee needs more time to consider all aspects of the policy. Mr. Saxton commented that we need to keep the goal of the policy in mind. If the goal is to be preventative, then all aspects of the policy need to be aligned with that. Russell Fries also commented on the first offense resulting in the consequence of non-participation in the activity. He suggested that the consequence of additional testing and notifying parents is also a consequence. Additionally, “sitting the bench” makes the consequence public.
Dr. Schuetz’s recommendation was for the Board to continue discussing the policy and await the result of the ExcellenceK12 survey before voting.
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Dr. Schuetz shared that once the original construction plans were agreed upon for Eagle Heights Elementary, that we knew we would have to go back to voters to add on to the building within a few years. We knew it would open near or at capacity and we advertised this during the campaign of 2016. Dr. Schuetz shared that we will have about 12 to 14 million in bonding capacity for an upcoming ballot issue and it will cost about 3 million to add on to Eagle Heights Elementary. As a result, we will be able to accomplish some additional projects as well.
Dr. Schuetz recommended the Board begin considering when to run a no-tax-rate increase general obligation bond issue. He shared that April is too soon, in his opinion, and the fire district plans to go in November of 2020. Consequently, August of 2020 looks like a viable option.
The Board should also consider a second question on the ballot to move money from debt service to operations. This is not an uncommon approach for districts wanting to increase operations dollars without raising taxes but it can only be done by a vote of the people. SSD did this in 1990 and Blue Springs did this in August of 2018. It would not inhibit our ability to make our debt payments but we would not be making as large of payments.
The Board approved personnel items as presented.
Miscellaneous
- Please make sure Donna is aware of your travel plans and dinner reservations for the MSBA conference.
- The New Teacher Reception is set for October 2 at 5:00 in the Boardroom.
- DLR will conduct the second and third public meeting on September 25 and October 10 in the High School cafeteria.
- Dr. Schuetz and the Board discussed a date for the student assessment workshop.
The meeting adjourned at 9:31 PM.
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New Athletics & Activities Website
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What will you find on the new site?
- All team schedules and scores.
- Download forms and see important links.
- See most current information on teams/clubs.
- Read stories about athletes/students/teams.
- See photos from events.
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It's a great day to be a Smithville Warrior!
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Coulter Bus Service is Hiring Drivers
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Coulter Bus Service is hiring drivers!
- Part-time and full-time positions available.
- Paid training to obtain CDL.
- Rate of pay: $1,500 per month for full-time drivers or $20 per route for substitute drivers.
- Sign-on bonus for drivers who continue employment for 6-months or more.
Contact Kelly Dearinger at 816.591.5399 if interested.
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The Missouri School Violence Hotline (SVH) began in October of 2001. In 2019, through the Missouri School Safety Initiative, the reporting mechanism moved to the Missouri Information Analysis Center for 24/7 operation and was named
Courage2ReportMO
. The goal is to make schools safer by helping school districts and law enforcement learn about school violence as soon as possible.
Courage2ReportMO
takes CONFIDENTIAL reports involving any public or private school in Missouri with students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
Learn more
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Freestyle Weight Watchers
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What: 12-week session of Weight Watchers at Work
When: September 25 - December 18, Wednesdays from 4:00 - 5:00 pm
- weigh in 4:00 - 4:15 pm
- meeting 4:15 - 4:45 pm
- weight in 4:45 - 5:00 pm
Where: Smithville School District, Central Office, Conference Room
How Much: $156.00
Payment via cash, check, charge OR 3 split checks all paid upfront ( 3 checks for $52 each ). One check is deposited every 4 weeks (deposited week 1, week 5 and week 9).
Everyone welcome. You do not need to be a District employee to participate.
Everyone who joins on September 25th is a winner of the KICK START KIT! $70 worth of items to get things started the right way.
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Smithville Boys Swim Fundraiser
October 19 & 30
Click the image for details.
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SHS Holiday Craft & Vendor Fair
Click the image for details. Click
here for the vendor application.
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Horizon Elementary PTO Fundraiser
Click the image for details.
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Be Active: NKC CommunityEd
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Check out the affordable, high quality community education programs offered by NKC Schools!
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DISTRICT SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
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We are frequently approached by members of the business community wanting to promote their business to the staff of the Smithville School District. We appreciate the services local businesses offer to our community and staff and would like to work together to promote businesses while supporting the students and staff of Smithville School District.
For this reason, we provide a format to assist in the promotion of businesses through our District sponsorship program. The sponsorship dollars will assist in providing staff and student activities, services, or awards in addition to creating ways for you to share and promote your business and services.
Sponsorship and support of the District is available at various levels – bundled or separately.
To learn more about our sponsorship program, click
here
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- September 27 - Homecoming (Early Dismissal)
- September 30 - Teachers' Meeting (No School)
- October 16 - Board of Education Meeting
- October 18 - 1st Quarter Ends (Early Dismissal)
- October 31 - No School
- November 1 - No School
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Smithville School District
655 S. Commercial Ave.
Smithville, MO 64089
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