The March Neelyville School Board meeting was attended by many area residents, staff and parents, as they addressed disaster response, food services and other topics of interest.
Assistant director of Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission Andrew Murphy was in attendance and addressed the board in regards to the adoption of a hazard mitigation plan.
“Neelyville was the only district in Butler County that didn’t approve this plan five years ago, so you are actually not currently covered by the Hazard Mitigation Plan,” explained Murphy.
“The biggest drawback to not being covered is if there’s an emergency you’re gonna be a lot less likely to get the emergency FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) money. If you have a tornado hit your school, you’re going to have a lot harder time getting federal assistance to help you recover. If you’re not up to date in your hazard mitigation plan, you do not qualify for a lot of the mitigation grants. That would be one consequence if this isn’t passed for this year.”
Murphy said the city of Neelyville did not participate in this five-year plan. This means Neelyville city will not be covered for the next five years.
The board later unanimously voted to accept the hazard mitigation plan on behalf of the district.
Representatives from OPAA also attended the board meeting to discuss their food service program. Jerry Noble addressed the board and presented comparisons and menus for the upcoming school year. The school currently utilizes OPAA food services and the contract was renewed for the 2023-2024 school year.
The annual performance report for the Missouri School Improvement Program, MSIP 6, was presented and showed Neelyville at a 78.1% improvement rate.
The APRs are intended to demonstrate progress made by students in the district, but current numbers, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website, are an inaccurate assessment due to the impact of the pandemic and changes to the scoring system.
Board elections will be held on April 4. Board incumbents Bobby Burgett and Paul Petty have filed for re-election to the upcoming elections. Shane Eakers’ term is also expiring, but he did not file for reelection. Other candidates seeking one of the three available seats are Wayne Wilcut, Amanda Wolfram, Adam Couch, Chuck Reinbott and Marco Gavino.
Staff resignations were accepted from physical education teacher Gary Dubar and business instructor Suzy McMasters.
The April board meeting has been scheduled for 7 p.m. April 17.