September School Board Reports — Week 4

Photo Credit: JoLynne Walz Martinez

Ten local school boards met last week.

Art Credit: JoLynne Walz Martinez

Kansas

Gardner-Edgerton

Highlights:

• Routine responsibilities of governance.

Kansas City

Highlights:

• Received a report on homelessness in Wyandotte County and action being taken to alleviate it. According to the agenda, “Research has found there to be a correlation between unstable housing and academic failure.”
• Accepted a $70,000 federal Education for Homeless Children and Youth grant.

Shawnee Mission

Highlights:

• Voted unanimously to purchase access to online literature resources aligned with the new Common Core Standards for $32,400 from the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt educational publishing company. This year, schools in both Kansas and Missouri are beginning to phase in the new academic standards, which are supposed to be more rigorous than those they are replacing. Many companies, such as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, are profiting from this transition.
• Considered proposed revisions to district policies governing “Child Abuse/Child Protection,” “Staff Hiring,” “Staff Hiring Authorization for Release of Information” and “Driving Record Verification Procedure.”

Spring Hill School District

Highlights:

• Voted unanimously to approve an electrical utility easement and water main connection to the new Wolf Creek Elementary School. The sale of school bonds approved by voters is funding construction.

Missouri

Blue Springs

Highlights:

• Held a public hearing to discuss the proposed property tax rate for the current school year.
• Considered proposed revisions to district policies governing “Use of School Buildings, Grounds and Equipment” and “Energy Management.”

Center

Highlights:

• Held a public hearing to discuss the proposed property tax rate for the current school year.

Fort Osage

Highlights:

• Held a public hearing to discuss the proposed property tax rate for the current school year.

Kansas City

Highlights:

• Approved proposed property tax rate for the current academic year. Marisol Montero cast the only vote against this proposal.

North Kansas City

Highlights:

• Routine responsibilities of governance.

Raytown

Highlights:

• Held a public hearing to discuss the proposed property tax rate for the current school year.

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