Superintendent outlines attendance and budget priorities; board adds temporary 0.25 FTE 504 support and extra baseball coach stipend

The Grain Valley R‑V School District superintendent reported to the board on finances, student attendance efforts and planning for the 2025‑26 budget, and the board approved two personnel actions during new business and later voted to enter executive session under state law.

On finance and calendar matters, the superintendent said the district has paid about $500,000 of $800,000 budgeted for health premium overages and that the board authorized an additional $300,000 payment the week of the meeting. The district has earned $418,000 in interest year‑to‑date and expects to reach $569,000, compared with $398,000 budgeted, the superintendent said.

The board discussed weather‑related makeup days and a state clarification on AMI (alternative methods of instruction). "Missouri gives ... 36 hours of AMI time for weather or other cancellations. That for us, that translates to just under 5, 5 and a half, school days," the superintendent said. Board members were told the district has used five full AMI days and has six snow‑makeup days built into the calendar; two of those occur around Easter weekend and four follow Memorial Day, and staff indicated they will choose specific dates if additional makeup days are needed.

Attendance was a major topic. The district is pursuing more targeted interventions using a new PowerSchool dashboard that analyzes five years of attendance history, flags chronic and at‑risk students and helps counselors and administrators intervene earlier. Board members noted the district’s 90% attendance goal tied to MSIP points; the superintendent said the district’s current proportional attendance is near 87% and that reaching 90% is difficult but a priority.

Special education and related caseloads prompted discussion of additional support. The board approved adding a 0.25 full‑time equivalent spring position described as "504 coordinator support" to handle increased caseloads; the authorization was for a part‑time, limited assignment through the end of the school year, with the district noting a possible full‑time FTE request in coming months if needs continue.

On athletics staffing, the board voted to add a stipend for an additional high‑school baseball coach so the program can field four distinct teams (varsity, JV, C team and freshman). District staff said the change would reduce the number of students cut from teams and create roughly a roster space for about 12–15 additional athletes.

The board also discussed the budget planning calendar for 2025‑26: staff will prioritize programming and personnel requests in February, refine revenue projections in March (including the legislative outlook for Senate Bill 727 items such as the 169 student contact‑day incentive), and present the draft budget to the board on or before June 5 with a vote three weeks later.

Administrative items included a reminder about the Missouri School Boards Association’s Advocacy Day on March 11; board members were encouraged to register through MSBA or district staff.

At the end of the meeting, the board made a motion "to adjourn and to go into executive session as authorized by the provisions of Section 610.021, numbers 12 and 13 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri." The motion passed on a roll call showing multiple board members voting yes.