The Oak Hill R-I Board of Education met June 9 at 6:30 p.m.
Members present were Nathan Ragsdale, Sarah Hoffman, Amanda Dooley, Nikki Eaton, Tela Connors and Amanda Sapaugh. Superintendent Aibeen Holland was present. Board member James Reese was absent.
Visitors present were Maria Jessen, Monica Jessen, Wanda Tatom, Steven Thompson, Rhonda Hutsell, Judy Ragsdale, Connie Rushing, Deloris Wood, Cathy Tucker, Mary Ann Williams, Ryan Williams, Stephanie Williams and Breanna Taylor.
Community member, Connie Rushing, came to express concerns she has been made aware of in the community. No one came to speak in directly to the board, which according to Ragsdale, shows how “legitimate their concerns are. “
Rushing addressed the board regarding the recent high turnover among teachers and staff at Oak Hill. Rushing stated that since September of 2021, 17 staff members, were fired, retired or resigned, a number that board president Ragsdale denied, though a corrected number was not supplied.
Near the beginning of the discussion, Ragsdale stated that they couldn’t discuss specific personnel by name in open session.
If community members or staff have complaints regarding Oak Hill staff members, they may file complaints through the superintendent, according to the school’s policy. However, once filed, state law does not require the board to address concerns.
Ragsdale indicated that all staff had been asked to attend board meetings in closed session to discuss any concerns they might have with changes being implemented.
Ragsdale attributed much of the recent turnover to changes in expectations that teachers faced. Superintendent Aibeen Holland pointed out that many of the changes made were regarding a change in standards.
“If we look at the data, we can see that we are underperforming,” said Holland, referencing data from the Missouri Department of Education. According to that publicly available data, R-I has been consistently underperforming compared to state averages and this dates back prior to COVID-19; low academic performance at the school cannot be solely attributed to the pandemic.
Members of the Oak Hill staff -- Steven Thompson, Maria Jessen, Breanna Taylor, Stephanie Williams and Holland, addressed the changes needed at the district in order to raise the educational level of students.
Ragsdale indicated that past superintendents had allowed teachers and other staff to intimidate them.
By and large, the board, Holland and other teachers present expressed their desire to see students succeed superseding all else. Ragsdale emphasized although change can be hard, in order for the district to begin performing at a higher level, immediate changes in curriculum were needed and staff would need to embrace the change.
Another concern addressed by Rushing was a situation that she knew of regarding a former substitute teacher at Oak Hill who was able to teach without proper state certification. Ragsdale, in an attempt to avoid relying on second-hand information, asked Rushing to hold off on going into more detail. At that point, Cathy Tucker, who was the substitute teacher in question, spoke up.
Tucker explained to the board that at the time she taught this past school year, she didn’t know that she needed the certification because she had not taught in years. However, recently, when she applied to substitute teach at Salem R-80 she was informed that she couldn’t teach in Missouri without the appropriate certification. Tucker expressed her concern that the school had not checked for that.
She also expressed additional concerns regarding the security practices of the school. Tucker stated that she did not personally know any of the staff at R-I other than the teacher she subbed for at pre-K. According to Tucker, no one bothered to make sure that she was who she said she was before she was given the key to the outdoor classroom and put in charge of the kids.
“I could have been anybody,” she said.
The board minutes received by The Salem News Monday morning made no mention of Tucker’s concerns. The Salem News was in attendance at the meeting.
Deloris Gray Wood also shared concerns she has regarding turnover, especially in regards to a veteran that she knew to have been on staff.
Mary Ann Williams discussed her concerns about the academic performance of students in recent years.
Also at the meeting:
• The board approved the payment of June 2022 bills and payroll.
• Budget/Cash and Attendance reports for May 2022 were reviewed. No action needed.
• Holland presented the recommended budget for the 2022-2023 school year to the board. She discussed the impact of rising fuel and food costs on the budget, however she felt as though the budget presented was a very conservative approach to the next school year. She indicated that the budget would need to be reapproved pending any changes based on recent grant opportunities approved at the state level for increasing teacher base salaries. The board passed the proposed budget by unanimous vote.
• The board reviewed Proposals of the Safety Committee. The board tabled a vote until the committee was able to prioritize the list of needed improvements.
• Holland presented the final recommended rates for additional pays/stipends. The board voted to increase the mileage reimbursement rate from the current 38 cents a mile to 60 cents given the current fuel cost.
• The board reviewed construction bids submitted by Made New Construction, Gray Construction, and Legacy Contracting for the recently advertised school improvements. After review of the bids, the board voted to award the bid to the lowest bidder, Gray Construction, pending receipt of proper bond and insurance as well as bid on flooring. Gray Construction will also be required to have the construction completed prior to the new school year and have an 80% on-site rate until the project is completed.
• FerrellGas was the sole bidder for propane for the 2022-2023 school year. The board voted unanimously to accept the bid to FerrellGas at $1.999/gallon and $2.099 for school employees.
• Holland presented recommended lunch prices for the 2022-2023 school year as follows: Breakfast-$.30 free/reduced, $1.45 student, $2.00 staff, Lunch-$.40 free/reduced, $2.35 student, $3.00 staff. The board voted to adopt the meal prices for 2022-2023.
• The proposed rental agreement for the property owned by the Oak Hill district was reviewed. The board voted to set the rental amount at $550/month pending cleaning and repairs and needed changes to the rental agreement. The board tabled any decision on the recent proposal by the Missouri legislature to increase teacher base pay to $38,000 pending the receipt of more information to be available in the next few weeks.
• Holland reviewed the current CSIP action plans based on a recent CSIP committee meeting from June 2. No action was taken.
• The board reviewed MCE Policy update. No changes needed.
• The board voted to amend the current vacation policy to allow staff members to extend the deadline for using vacation days based on extenuating circumstances. The request will need to be addressed and approved by the board without guarantee of approval and submitted prior to the current deadline of June 30.
The board went into closed session at 10:45 p.m.
Resignations were approved for Marion Lunn, kindergarten; and Sarah Sullins, paraprofessional.
The following contract offers were approved for the 2022-2023 school year: Teachers William Wallace, Emily Nash, and Timothy Todd; Laura Connell was approved for PAT Coordinator, and Dane Thompson as an Instructional Aide.
Closed session and the meeting were adjourned at 11:25 p.m.
