VIENNA — Maries R-1 Superintendent Teresa Messersmith said during the Nov. 28 board meeting that the school would continue to use the Catapult Learning service after the board had considered moving on from the program.

Messersmith told the board that a survey of teachers showed about a 50-50 split in opinion on whether the district should continue to use the program. When the survey did not lean one way or the other, the administrators decided that they would prefer to keep the program available for teachers.

“It gives them a good guide,” Messersmith said. “It gives them a lot of great activities to do (and) lots of resources. It seems to draw the interest of the kids. We’ve had good attendance. I think it’s good for the kids.”

The district also sent out a survey to parents to determine how many would be interested in the school offering before and/or after-school care. Responses came from 67 families with students in the elementary school. The parents of only about a dozen students said they would be interested in an extra care program. Messersmith said she did not think that amount of interest would be enough to start a program.

Messersmith shared some of the district’s unexpected expenses during the meeting. Andy Wilbers Plumbing had to cut out some of the concrete to work on a drain pipe for the district’s grease trap. The company also repaired a toilet at the elementary school. The district paid a $2,700 bill for both repairs. Another extra expense was a $1,323 bill from Anderson Locks for a few lock sets.

The district received $116,966.80 in Formula Classroom Trust money. Proposition C revenue totaled $63,789.26 in November. The district received $20,227 in Transportation funds.

Electricity cost the district $3,815.46 in November. The propane reading at the time of the meeting was 28 percent. Messersmith said she expected the district would order propane in mid-December.

Facility updates included the repairs to the grease traps and restrooms. The district is working to purchase items with the $50,000 School Safety Grant it received during the second round of state funding. Items on the list include bleed kits and detectors in the restrooms that alert to electronic cigarette vapors. Messersmith said the district also plans to put emergency walls in the cafeteria and near the gym. The walls will hold boxes containing items such as EpiPens, Narcan and bleed kits that will be available in case of an emergency.

Triangle Environmental Science and Engineering completed lead testing on 24 outlets in the district in November. The district is still waiting on results. Once the district receives the results, it must share them in a letter to the public that will go out to parents.

A couple of the district’s buses have needed repairs. The preschool bus was temporarily out of service because of an issue with the door, but it received repairs and is back on the road. Another bus started having problems with its door, so it was at a shop for repairs at the time of the meeting.

Messersmith also shared upcoming events. The faculty Christmas party will be on Dec. 13 at the American Legion. The last day of the semester is Dec. 20. Winter break will last from Dec. 21 to Jan. 2, 2024, which is a professional development day for faculty. Classes will resume on Jan. 3 of next year.

Enrollment at the elementary school was 224 students in November. The school had a 91 percent attendance rate. Enrollment at the middle school was 102 students with a 95.43 percent attendance rate in November. Enrollment at the high school was 152 with a 95.06 percent attendance rate for the month. Across the district, enrollment was 478 students and attendance was 93.83 percent.

Messersmith also shared the report Special Education Director Joe Edwards left with her. He could not attend the meeting because he was supervising a basketball game in Chamois.

Edwards reported that members of the district’s care team attended a threat assessment team training conducted by the Missouri School Board Association’s Center for Education Safety. The care team plans to adopt the role of a threat assessment team. He planned to share more about it at the next board meeting on Dec. 19.

The report also recognized counselors Natalie Martin and Alyssa Smith for distributing meals to families helped by the district’s Thanksgiving food drive.