When they met Aug. 6 the Jefferson School Board held voted to accept the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with support staff. Those terms will be made public if and when the contract is approved by staff. According to AOS 93 Supt. Steve Bailey, support staff will vote on the agreement after they return to work at the end of August.
The board also heard a report from Principal Pete Gallace and approved the hiring of classroom teacher Sandy Brann, for the second grade, and Cindy Allen for the new lifeskills position that was created earlier this summer.
Bailey said work on the library, to restore it to use after a sprinkler burst in January, is nearly complete and should be done by Jefferson Community Day, Sat., Aug. 18. He said work to prepare the rest of the school buildign for the coming year is nearing completion as well.
“The rest of the punch list is getting very tiny,” Bailey said.
Two policies are in line for updating after legislative changes. The board had first readings on the policy and procedure for physical restraint and seclusion. Bailey said that policies that may not be used often still need to be in place and up to date so they are there when schools do need them.
The board also held its first reading on changes to the policy on student computer use, Internet use and Internet safety. Bailey said that includes social networking guidelines and education for parents and students about the potential dangers of Internet use and cyber bullying.
In a budget report, the board learned of some unanticipated expenses from fiscal year 2012 that reduced the carry forward balance by approximately $25,000. Bailey said the district was able to adjust expenses to meet that shortfall because of a smaller number of students coming into the 5 through 8 grade program
“We had a teacher retire from grades 7-8,” he said. “We don’t anticipate that we will be rehiring that position.” He said Gallace and lead teacher Mary Bridgham have designed “a pretty sophisticated model” for those grades that will utilize the remaining three teachers, as well as a number of special education teachers and educational technologists, to meet the needs of students in the upper grades.
Jefferson teachers will return to work for two workshop days, Aug. 29 and 30.
Classes will begin Tues., Sept. 4.
For more information, call the AOS 93 central office at 563-3044.
