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Ava R-I School Board Purchases Bus, Plans Capital Projects

The Ava R-1 School Board convened for their regular monthly meeting last Thursday, June 17th.

Closed Session

During the closed portion of the meeting the board accepted the resignation of Shelby Tracy, Assistant High School Volleyball Coach.

Open Session

Payment of Bills

The board  voted to authorize payment of bills. The authorization was split into two votes to allow board members with potential conflicts of interest to abstain from voting.

Principal/Director Reports

The board then heard reports from the leader of each school or department.

Elementary

Dr Clint Hall took advantage of his last presentation before the school board to thank the board, the school staff, parents and teachers for his time at Ava Schools. Dr. Hall is joining the Gainesville School District as a 7-12 Principal.

Middle School

Middle School Principal Patty Nelson mentioned summer school activities including science adventures, solar ovens, and fishing.

High School 

Ava High School Principal Dr. Teresa Nash reported that there were 183 students enrolled in summer school.

Special Services

Special Services Director Melissa Dalton said her staff was busy submitting core data to state-level agencies.

Maintenance

Maintenance Director Monty Valentine reported that his workers were doing well at removing the asbestos tiles from the elementary school floor.

Food Service

Food Service Director Yvonne Honerkamp said feeding all the summer school students was going well.

Administration Reports – Superintendent

Dr. Jason Dial reported that he felt the school end of year finances were “looking good.”  He said the school was looking at how to best use ESR2 funds, while ESR3 funds were not yet available. He said they could be available anywhere “from next week to next spring.” Dial said the end of the school year had been a good one and that he was working to make the transition to Dalton an easier one. 

Capital Projects

Dial went on to list the capital projects that had been ranked by surveying the school board. The results were:

1. 4th Grade exterior doors

2. High School secure main entry

3. Elementary kitchen dishwasher

4/5. Preschool parking lot expansion

4/5. Kindergarten playground wall replacement

6. Middle School gym entrance concrete replacement

7. Filling cracks in asphalt ceiling

8. Elementary/HS drainage

9. Replacing carpet in the HS business labs, office, and library

10. Middle school lockers

Dial said he and Aaron Dalton had been able to fit the first seven items into the budget. He said a few of the projects would be paid for out of this year’s budget and the remaining would be in the next fiscal year budget.

Administration Reports – Assistant Superintendent

Aaron Dalton remarked that with many of these funds – including ESR3, the money is set aside first then requirements are communicated later. He said that some of the new requirements included that a school have a return to seated instruction plan. Dalton said that Ava Schools had created that plan earlier, so it only need a bit of revision in order to satisfy the new requirements. Dalton went on to say that the school would need to form a committee to monitor and review usage of these funds. That committee would need to meet every six months in order to remain eligible for the funds.

Action Items (requiring a board vote)

All of the following items were approved with a 7-0 vote from the board:

Budget Amendments for 2020-2021 School Year.

The 2021-2022 bus drivers.

The Purchase of a 2015 Bluebird bus to replace a bus totaled in a recent accident. Cost to the school was $34,290 less $17,500 paid out by the insurance company for the totaled bus.

A $1.2M Fund 1 to Fund 4 transfer to pay for capital projects.

The 2021 – 2022 school budget.

Hiring Greg Crawford construction to complete the HS main entry project at a cost of $52,300.

The MSBA 2021B policy update.

The approval for the Superintendent to pay bills in July when the school board does not meet.

The scheduling of the Tax Rate hearing for Tuesday, August 17th at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting (moved to Tuesday to avoid a scheduling conflict with an open house later that week). 

Dial Out

At the end of the open session Dr. Jason Dial, for whom this was his last Ava School Board meeting, expressed his gratitude to the current and previous school boards for their work. “I appreciate each one of you and the past members that have been here as well.”

Video

Video of the meeting can be viewed on https://douglascountyherald.com.

Next Meeting

The next regular board meeting will be held March 18th at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are open to the public.