Follow along with the action by reading the board summary supplied by the Excelsior Springs School District.
Highlights of September 12, 2022, meeting include:
Resignation of Lewis Elementary Principal, Kacie Ambrose effective at the end of the 22/23 school year
Dr. Tomlinson announced Melanie Shockley, Adult Education Coordinator at the Career Center, as the September Classified Employee of the Month. She was recently recognized at the Career Center and presented with a Certificate of Excellence. Dr. Tomlinson read her nomination:
[Melanie] was awarded for her diligent work over the course of the last three years to improve and expand the adult education program at the Career Center. While fighting through a pandemic and the closure of enrichment classes she still improved program marketing and adjusted tuition to meet industry standards. She actually doubled the number of students enrolled and created a new system of record keeping. She’s instituted program tuition evaluations, built many relationships and agreements with area hospitals and centers of care, and she also maintained certifications for all of our programs. We want to recognize Melanie Shockley as this month’s classified employee of the month!
Career Center Director, Ben Rubey announced that he and his team had been working on three grant opportunities to enhance the Career Center. The first is the FY23 – Area Career Center Construction Project. This spring the Legislature appropriated $5.5 million for the design, renovation, construction, and improvements of career (vocational) technical schools, provided that costs are shared at a ratio of 50% state and 50% local. Rubey said, this grant has already been submitted and the district has asked for the cost of the repairs and renovations listed in the Career Center’s portion of the district’s Long Range Facilities Plan. The second grant the Career Center will be applying for is the Missouri Area Career Center Opportunity Grant (MACCO), funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The grant’s purpose is to enhance the capacity of career and technical education by providing greater opportunities for students participating and engaging in CTE. This is a 75/25 matching grant with a maximum award of $400,000.00. Rubey presented a design that included preliminary plans for an addition to the Career Center that could house a new Welding Facility. The grant discussed was the Parent Reimbursement Grant funded with GEERS II money. This is money that has been set aside to help cover the out-of-pocket costs for students that are enrolled in CTE classes. These funds can be used to cover the costs for equipment, clothing, Industry Recognized Credentials, Stackable credentials, etc. Mr. Rubey said that any student enrolled in a CTE program can take advantage of the funds provided.
Superintendent, Dr. Travis Hux reviewed the next phase of construction for the Excelsior Springs School District, which is part of the District’s Long Range Facility Plan. His review included a detailed report that can be seen in full below. The big takeaway from this portion of the meetings was that the board is making preliminary plans to place a measure on the April 2023 municipal ballot allowing the School District to move ahead with a new downtown elementary school to replace the aging Lewis Elementary. This would be another “no tax increase” measure similar to what was utilized for the construction of Cornerstone Elementary. If approved a new school would most likely be built behind Lewis Elementary and when complete Lewis would be razed.
The ESSD School Board meets on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 PM at the Support Services Building in Room 8, 113 Line Street in Excelsior Springs, MO. Meetings are live-streamed courtesy of the Excelsior Citizen and our sponsors to our Facebook Page, Facebook Group, YouTube channel, and at ExcelsiorCitizen.com. Board of Education agendas and documentation can be found at https://essd40.com/district_information/board_of_education
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Is the city still looking at purchasing the property owned by the Clay Ray Veterans for the school expansion or has that been dropped?
It is our understanding that the school district is no longer planning to purchase that property.