Maries R-1 School Board makes decisions about hiring staff, employee health insurance, school calendar

By Laura Schiermeier, Staff Writer
Posted 3/16/22

VIENNA — The Maries R-1 School Board made some hiring decisions during business at the board’s February meeting.

Vienna High School Principal Ian Murray said the VHS Assistant …

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Maries R-1 School Board makes decisions about hiring staff, employee health insurance, school calendar

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VIENNA — The Maries R-1 School Board made some hiring decisions during business at the board’s February meeting.

Vienna High School Principal Ian Murray said the VHS Assistant Baseball Coach, Tanner Helton, has been hired as a coach at Eugene and a new assistant coach is needed for the spring baseball season. Murray recommended hiring Trace Clark as the new assistant coach for the 2022 season. 

“He’s from here and will do a good job,” Murray told the board members. 

Cory Nicholson will remain as the head Eagles Baseball Coach. The school board accepted Murray’s recommendation to hire Coach Clark.

Superintendent Teresa Messersmith spoke to the board about Rudroff Bus Company in Osage County, which is owned by Joe Neuner. It has taken over one of the district’s bus routes. Former contracted driver Tami Lake is driving the route for Rudroff Bus Company. Messersmith said Neuner agreed to take over the route and to accept the pay and school is paying for the route. Neuner will send an invoice for the next three months.

School Board President Vicki Bade asked how the bus route will be handled with summer school. Messersmith said Neuner is interested in doing this “down the road.”

The board agreed to provide long-term substitute teacher pay for Sheila Allen to help the school nurse two days a week. She began working with School Nurse Lindsay Otto in January. Messersmith said it has helped a lot and Otto said the arrangement has been working. 

In other business at the February R-1 School Board meeting:

—Messersmith said she did an evaluation of administrators High School Principal Ian Murray, Elementary Principal Shanda Snodgrass, and Special Services Director Joe Edwards and recommended renewing their contracts for next year, adding one year to the contract. 

Bade asked if there is any reason to table this for executive session and Messersmith said no. The board members voted to extend the contract for each of them.

—The board discussed selling an older model truck, a 1981 Chevrolet C-30 truck, used for clearing snow off the parking lots and bus lanes. It gets repaired and running, then won’t start when they need to use it. Messersmith said Struemph Lawn Care will clear the school’s lots and lanes for $150. She thinks this is cheaper and more efficient than continuing to put more money into repairing the old truck. Board member Mike Kleffner said the school can’t afford to keep up the old truck, adding it came from surplus property. He said they will spend more money repairing the truck to do the snow removal than they will paying someone such as Struemph to do the snow removal. 

The board members agreed to sell it. Bade suggested they take the money from the sale and buy a new cook stove for the cafeteria to replace an aging stove. 

Messersmith said the school district’s preschool bus seems to always have something wrong with it. She suggested selling the preschool bus and the truck and using the proceeds to get a better preschool bus.

Board member Mike Kleffner said he didn’t think the school will get much for the truck. 

Principal Snodgrass said the preschool bus has had multiple repairs. Board member Matt Novak asked about earmarking ESSER III money for a new preschool bus. 

Bade suggested they start shopping for a new preschool bus. She added the stove in the cafeteria need to be replaced as well. Kleffner said they should start looking and “put the word out” about wanting a newer preschool bus. He said the bus companies will let the school district know if they have something that works for Maries R-1.

—Messersmith recommended the school district continue to offer to its employees the OSBA 3,000 Choice PPO health insurance plan for the 2022-2023 school year. 

The premium increased 6.65 percent or $35.96 a month for 68 employees for a total increase cost of $29,343.36. Last year the monthly rate per employee was $539.86 and for the 2022-2023 school year the new rate will be $575.82 per month. For 12 months times 68 employees, total cost of the health insurance for one year is $469,869.12. 

Messersmith said it seemed like an increase of quite a bit, but it is not as much as it increased last year. She spoke with other superintendents who said the “increase was within reason.”

The board approved the renewal with the school district paying 100 percent of the premiums. 

—Messersmith gave two 2022-2023 school calendar options to staff members, asking for them to choose their preference. There were 47 responses. Of those 72.3 percent chose the option 2 calendar. She said option 2 has a longer Christmas break and Easter break. It is similar to the calendar they are using for the current school year. The option has the required 1044 hours in the school year calendar plus 60 hours of snow days built into it. 

—In the financial report, Formula/CTF revenue for February was $112,169.59. The four-year average monthly payment is $110,293.28 so the payment is about $1,000 more than the four-year average.

The Prop C revenue for the month was $49,867.93, which is about $4,000 more than the four-year average. Transportation revenue for the month was $7,751, which is about $1,300 more than the four-year average. 

The February electric bill was $4,287.36, which is about $500 more than the four-year average. Propane was purchased during February at a cost of $13,595.92. The tank currently is at about 30 percent. 

Kleffner asked if the cost of electricity has gone up. He said the school district put in energy saving lights, and new energy efficient windows, yet the school district has not recognized the savings from it yet. 

Messersmith said she will call and ask about the electricity rates. 

Present at the February board meeting were board members Dave Long, Joe Barnhart, Dave Garro, Matt Novak, Mike Kleffner, and Vicki Bade; staff members Beth Hollis, Paula Schwartze, Ian Murray, Shanda Snodgrass, Joe Edwards, Teresa Messersmith, Melanie Swarthout, Sara Campbell, Lindsay Otto, and Malinda Howard.