Anderson 5 board approves community-use policy; considers fundraising and ranking policy revisions

The Anderson School District 5 Board of Trustees on Monday approved the second reading of policy KF, which governs community use of school facilities, and advanced two other policy changes on first reading.

Superintendent and administration presented KF as unchanged since the previous reading; a motion to adopt the policy on second reading was moved and seconded and passed by a show of hands. The policy clarifies parameters for renting district facilities outside instructional hours and administrative rules that implement the policy.

The board also took up revisions to policy JJE, governing student fundraising activities. Administration presented a rewritten draft intended to limit solicitation and to protect younger students: "No individual organization may solicit meaning to urge or require the giving of money or donations from students at any time, and under no circumstances should students be compelled or pressured to contribute," the superintendent read from the proposed language. The draft also bars door-to-door fundraising for students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and requires principal approval for fundraising during school hours. After clarifying questions about whether teachers or employees could be required to participate, trustees moved the policy for a first reading and directed staff to refine rule language on employee participation.

Trustees also approved a first reading of revisions to policy IKC on class rankings and grade-point averages. The recommended change replaces references to an administrative rule with the district's current course catalog as the source for weighted-course calculations and tightens eligibility for valedictorian and salutatorian status to require students be enrolled in the graduating high school for the final four continuous semesters before graduation. Board members asked staff to define "enrolled" more precisely and to consider mirroring the catalog weightings in an administrative rule so they are easier to locate.

All three items were presented by district staff and advanced under standard procedure for first- and second-readings; the board signaled willingness to accept minor wording changes before final adoption.

The policies will return to a future board meeting for final action where required by the district's policy-adoption schedule.