The Poplar Bluff R-1 school board on Thursday approved a cooperative agreement with Sacred Heart Catholic School that will allow parochial students who live within the Poplar Bluff district to participate in extracurricular activities such as sports, art, band and choir.
Sacred Heart Principal Gloria Wilson appealed to the board, pointing out that even though students attend the Catholic school, families that live in the Poplar Bluff district still support the public school through their taxes.
Sacred Heart currently serves 75 students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. They hope to add a seventh grade in the future, and this agreement will allow their students to take part in activities at the Poplar Bluff Junior High School.
Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill spoke in support of the agreement, pointing out that Sacred Heart students would eventually become Poplar Bluff students, and their participation in these activities would be valuable for all involved.
Thursday’s meeting was the last to be presided over by board President John Scott, who is not running for re-election next month. Board member Jerrod Murphy is also retiring from the board after the April 4 election.
Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill recognized both men for their dedicated service and presented them with commemorate plaques near the conclusion of the meeting.
This leaves two open seats to be filled in the upcoming election. Board member Dr. Michael Price is also running for election for a full term. He is currently serving the remainder of the term vacated by Alana Robertson, who resigned last year.
In other business, the board approved the Culinary Arts Building Project bids provided by Technical Career Center Director Charles Kinsey.
The bid was awarded to Zoellner Construction of Perryville with a base bid of $1,437,126 for the culinary arts expansion at the TCC. The project will be funded in large part by a Community Development Block Grant.
Shipman Construction of Dexter submitted a lower bid of $1,416,348, but they did not attend the mandatory pre-bid meeting set forth by CDBG practices. CE Norton had the highest bid at 1,485,000.
The board also approved the final Senior High Concession & Restroom project payment to CE Norton Construction $20,201.57 and the fifth payment for the new Junior High School Activity Center, also to CE Norton Construction, for $77,458.09.
Meinershagen Roofing and Sheet Metal of Farmington was awarded the Roofing System Bids for the Maintenance and Mark Twain buildings for a total bid price of $545,525 for both projects.
Summer school pay rate increases were approved at an increase of 4% for the upcoming summer session. This increase covers all classification of positions.
The district will add three additional teaching positions for next year: a special education teacher at the Early Childhood Center, a special education teacher at O’Neal Elementary who serves homebound students, and a special education teacher at O’Neal in a functional classroom.
A stipend was also approved for an assistant baseball coach at the junior high.
Transportation Director Jon McKinney recommended the board accept bids from Central States Transportation for two new buses: a gas-powered Blue Bird for $130,972 and a diesel-powered Blue Bird for $137,845.
$200,000 of the cost will come from ESSER III federal COVID relief funds, with an additional $22,500 grant from the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.
McKinney also reported that average daily bus ridership is 2,183.5 students per day, which represents an increase of 260.5 students per day from the 2021-2022 school year.