Poplar Bluff schools can start using metal detectors at district buildings and events, following approval Thursday night of a new policy.
The policy is part of an update from the Missouri School Board Association, according to information presented to the Board of Education.
Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill emphasized the district has no immediate plans to deploy or use metal detectors at this time. However, Dill said, “It’s good to be able to use them if we need them.”
Dill and several board members agreed using metal detectors at a fixed point of entry to a building would cause a bottleneck of people that would in itself become a security issue.
While the policy does authorize the potential use of both stationary and portable detectors, Dill emphasized this policy option is envisioned as giving the district the ability to do “spot checks as needed.”
If the need ever arose, the school board would still need to authorize the bids, purchases and use of these devices in the future, officials shared.
The board also approved the Vocational Enhancement Grant and 50/50 grant applications as presented by Poplar Bluff Technical Career Center Director Charles Kinsey.
Kinsey said the Enhancement Grant is earmarked for upgrades to the Auto Collision and HVAC programs. That grant requires a 25% match from the district.
The 50/50 application will be used for computer graphics and print technology.
If the district receives the full grant amounts, TCC expenditures of $186,000 in these areas will cost the district $50,785.
In other TCC activities, the board approved the Area Career Center Construction Grant/HVAC Bid with Buffington Brothers Heating and Cooling for $309,100.
Other board-approved expenditures include the Senior High Concession & Restroom Project Payment #6 for $27,578.42 and the Junior High School Activity Center Payment #3 for $67,593.47; both payments went to CE Norton Construction.
Dill presented the recommended Academic Calendar for the 2023-2024 school year with a start date of Aug. 21.
In order to accommodate the state-mandated instructional hours, a small shift in class times at the middle school was made, officials said, with adjustments following at the other district schools.
The end result of the new calendar will be fewer school days but the same number of instructional hours, the board was told. The board approved the calendar.
Upon recommendation from Assistant Superintendent Mike Owen, the board approved the salary schedule change for the attendance tracker position from “miscellaneous” to “classified.”
Transportation Director Jon McKinney informed the board buses will undergo mandated inspections by the Missouri State Highway Patrol in March. The department is working to prepare their bus fleet accordingly.
In the superintendent’s report, Dill described ongoing negotiations with the Boys and Girls Club of the Heartland for a long-term lease on district property for a high school-age teen center.
Dill said further information on that project along with potential recommendations for action will likely come next month.
The school board will next meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16.