CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Carthage R-9 Board of Education met in regular session on Monday, June 17, 2024, 6:00 pm, at the Carthage South Technical Center.
Present were Board members Jeff Jones, Lora Phelps, Ryan Collier, Patrick Scott, Maria Sanchez, and Mark Westhoff. Niki Cloud was absent. Jeff Jones led the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Board approved the Consent Agenda for the purpose of approving the meeting agenda, minutes of previous meeting, payment of bills, district financial report, amendments to FY24 budget, meal prices for the 2024-2025 school year, re-adopt policy/regulation 0342 (nepotism, conflict of interest, and financial disclosure), student transportation routes and average ridership counts for 2023-2024, renewal of occupational health services agreement for 2024-2025, approve revised policies and regulations, approve change order request #2 for Carthage baseball stadium, approve contract for elevator at David Haffner Stadium, and re-adopt Southwest Missouri Bank transaction resolution.
Mrs. Catherine Steverson, Director of Information Technology, provided an evaluative report on Technology, MSIP 6 TL9, CSIP Goal V (Objectives C,D, and E). Topics addressed included communication with students, parents, and staff through ParentSquare, storage area network upgrade and installation, implementation of phishing training with staff and grades 7-12, expansion of Chromebook to 4th graders, teacher professional development programs, online enrollment and back to school registration, implementation of online pay through infinite campus, and firewall upgrades.
Mr. Mark Holderbaum, Director of Athletics and Activities, and Dr. Angela Holman, High School Principal, appeared before the Board to review the 2023-2024 Carthage High School spring sports. Mr. Holderbaum highlighted performance awards, overall and COC records, team GPAs, and future outlook.
Ms. Maria Sanchez provided a Carthage R-9 School Foundation update stating academic awards night awarded over $96,000 in scholarships and an overall total of $184,000 scholarships were awarded for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Dr. Holley Goodnight, Assistant Superintendent for Business, provided the Board information regarding the bid the district received for the carpentry class storage sheds. A decision was made to reject the bid and ask for more time to advertise the sheds.
Dr. Matt Huntley, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, provided the Board information regarding the 2024-2025 student handbooks.
Dr. Goodnight provided the Board information regarding the MOPERM insurance policy for the school district.
Dr. Luke Boyer, Superintendent, presented a Memorandum of Understanding between Jasper County Sheriff’s Department (JCSD) and Carthage Technical Center (CTC). Responsibilities for JCSD and CTC were discussed along with information on the training equipment used for educational and training purposes.
Dr. Luke Boyer, Superintendent, provided the Board information regarding the salary schedules for the 2024-2025 school year for all classifications and extra duties. Notable changes include adding $150.00 to the base teacher salary increasing it to $41,000, adding step 31 to the teacher salary schedule, adding $.50 per hour to the base of the paraprofessional salary schedule, all staff currently on a salary schedule will be granted a step advancement, and for those staff not currently on a salary schedule, an average percentage equivalent will be granted to them compared to increases for those on a salary schedule.
Dr. Boyer provided the Board information regarding the preliminary budget for the fiscal year 2025. Dr. Boyer updated the Board regarding the following:
- 2024 Carthage Tiger Excellence Award recipients: Chris Laytham (EC-3), Anna Maturino (4-6), Kirk Jones (7-8), and Chris Wilkerson (9-12) and the Rising Star Award recipient, Colton Sprenkle
- Eye of Tiger Award winners for the 2023-2024 school year include: Amanda Mankin (Administrative Support Services), Bob Abramovitz (Custodial/Maintenance), Monica Clinton (Food Service), Bobbi Castor (Instructional/Student Support Services), and Carla LeMasters (Transportation).
- Congratulations to Brittany Nixon on being awarded the Alpha Eta Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa Excellence in Education Award.
- Summer school is winding down with Wednesday, June 26th being the last day. Much appreciation is given to the teachers for continuing to engage students in academic programs and having fun.
- Congratulations to alumni Brayden Cole on achieving a U.S. Olympic Trials cut time in the 100-meter breaststroke. Brayden is one of only seven active Division II student-athletes that competed at the Olympic Trials.
- Alumni Dylan Calhoon recently lead a team of researchers and published findings on the impact of lipoprotein on cancer cells.
The Board met in closed session immediately following the regular meeting to discuss legal, personnel, and student matters in compliance with Section 610.021 (1), (3), and (6) of the Revised Statutes of Missouri.
In closed session the Board approved the following personnel actions:
Approved the employment of certified, support, and substitute staff as presented contingent upon receiving a clear criminal record check from the Missouri Highway Patrol and Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a clear check of the Adult Abuse/Neglect Registry maintained by the Missouri Department of Social Services for all employees new to the district:
Certified Hire
Malorie Spangler, Part-Time Social Studies Teacher Carthage High School New Hire
Morgan Helms, SPED Teacher Columbian Elementary New Hire
Nicole Capps, School Psychologist District New Hire
Andrea Read, Title 1 Teacher, Instructional Coach Mark Twain Elementary New Hire
Sylvia McReynolds, 2nd Grade Teacher Steadley Elementary New Hire
Seina DeCrescenzo, SPED Teacher Sixth Grade Center New Hire
Support Hire
Sydnee Dudolski, Summer Custodian Carthage High School New Hire
Aidan Cline, Summer Custodian Carthage Junior High School New Hire
David Triplett, Summer Custodian Steadley Elementary New Hire
Kye Patrick, Bright Futures Intern Bright Futures New Hire
Jessiah Riner, Maintenance/HVAC Technician Maintenance New Hire
Paige Blankenship, Student Intern District Office New Hire
Emma Pound, Title 1 Instructional Assistant Columbian Elementary New Hire
Certified Transfer
Megan Endicott, SPED Teacher Carthage High School Transfer
Seth Davison, Language Arts Teacher Sixth Grade Center Transfer
Rebecca Rives, Library Media Specialist Sixth Grade Center Transfer
Shanna Pugh, Instructional Facilitator District Transfer
Heidy Hathcock,1st Grade Teacher – PSRS Critical Shortage Columbian Elementary Transfer
Tara Chapman, SPED Teacher Columbian Elementary Transfer
Jessica Page, Gifted Teacher for Grades 6-12 District Transfer
Madalyn Kennedy, Language Arts Teacher Carthage Junior High School Transfer
Support Modification
Tristen Strickland, Summer Custodian Carthage Junior High School Modification
Judith Beaver, Part-Time Title 1 Paraprofessional Mark Twain Elementary Modification
Donald Clark, Paraprofessional Steadley Elementary Modification
Caitlin Witt, Paraprofessional Steadley Elementary Modification
Bethany Jeffries, Paraprofessional Steadley Elementary Modification
Shawna Bayless, Paraprofessional Steadley Elementary Modification
Larry Doty, Paraprofessional Carthage Junior High School Modification
Juli Minor, Paraprofessional Carthage Junior High School Modification
Pallavi Farmer, Paraprofessional Carthage High School Modification
Taria Smith, Paraprofessional Carthage High School Modification
Karley Barnett, Paraprofessional Carthage High School Modification
Kyle Reed, Summer Custodian District Modification Substitute
Modification/Transfer
Emalie Gordon, Substitute District Modification
Michael Dietz, Substitute Bus Aide Transportation Modification
Trish Gatewood, Substitute District Modification
Andrea Moute, Full-Time Nurse Substitute District Transfer
Certified Resignation
Sierra Jacques, Computer Science Teacher Sixth Grade Center Resignation
Stephanie Davied, 2nd Grade Teacher Steadley Elementary Resignation
Support Retirement
Ricky Eubanks, Custodian Columbian Elementary Retirement
Elizabeth Waite, PAT Early Childhood Center Retirement
Support Resignation
Quinn Randall, Sped Paraprofessional Sixth Grade Center Resignation
Nathan Danner, Bright Futures Intern Bright Futures End of School Year
Substitute Resignation
Brett Fox, Substitute District Resignation
Wayne Jones, Substitute Bus Driver Transportation Resignation
Originally appeared on The Turner Report
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