BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- After seven years without an alternative for Stoddard County students who are facing disciplinary corrective measures, an Alternative Schopol is projected to reopen in the Justice Center in Bloomfield.
Through a cooperative effort between juvenile authorities, the Stoddard County Commission and county school districts, the Alternative School will be reopened in the lower level of the Justice Center. It will be located in the area which formerly housed the Alternative School. The opening is contingent upon the completion of remodeling of the Trust Building, according to Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis.
Bloomfield Superintendent Toni Hill told the Bloomfield School board discussions with Associate Judge Joe Satterfield and Juvenile Officer Tonya Causey led to the proposal to reopen the Alternative School. She said each school district in the county currently has a program for students with out-of-school suspensions. Both Satterfield and Causey were concerned some students with serious behavioral problems were suspended without an opportunity to continue their education.
The county commission is looking at remodeling the old Trust Building to house sheriff's deputies and staff. They were moved to the basement of the Justice Center when mold was found in the Trust Building. They will have to be relocated back to the Trust Building, which is adjacent to the Stoddard County Jail. The county will not be charging the school districts rent, according to Hill.
Hill said the new Alternative School will be smaller and less costly than the one that closed in 2010. She said there will be only one teacher. The space required will be one classroom and an office for the teacher.
Hill said six of the seven school districts in the county will be utilizing the school. Causey said the Puxico School District is the only one not participating, noting they had adopted their own program when the old Alternative School closed.
"They feel that their program is working for them," said Causey.
Hill told Bloomfield Board members the estimated cost of the Alternative School per school district is $7,000 per year. She said school districts receive federal title 1D funds that may only be used for an Alternative School located off the school campuses. She said this money will be used by each district to pay for the school.
She said the Bloomfield District will provide the teacher and school lunches, which will meet Bloomfield's financial obligation.
The original Alternative School was located in Dexter. It moved to the Justice Center after that building was constructed with the basement housing both the Juvenile Detention Center and the Alternative School. A grant was obtained for the operation of the Alternative School, which provided the needed funding for several years before the grant funds were expended.
It was during the summer of 2010 that it was decided to close the doors of the county's alternative school, which was housed in the Justice Center in Bloomfield. The closure came in the midst of massive cuts to public school funding across the board.
At the time of the closing, then Bloomfield superintendent, Dr. Nick Thiele, cited financial concerns as the primary reason for the closing, but the decision followed a domino effect after one by one, county schools were pulling out. Dexter Schools was the reportedly funding about 45 percent of the program and was the first to exit in April 2010, finding they could more feasibly fund their own program. That in-house program is still operating and is housed at the Bearcat Event Center.
Soon after Dexter's withdrawal, other county schools decided to follow suit, again citing the expense coupled with the revenue shortfalls.
The most significant concern at the time was that the closing would lead to more out-of-school suspensions, leaving students in some county districts with no alternative plan.