Superintendent details enrollment plan, staffing additions and $40,000 security grant request

Dr. Joe Clark, the district superintendent, told the board the district will accept kindergarten open-enrollment applications but will not consider them until August so resident students can enroll first; the district plans two kindergarten sections by default and can add a 0.333 teacher if resident enrollment requires it. “Open enrollment should not drive the hiring of 0.333 teacher because our district does not receive extra funding for open enrolled students,” he said.

Clark also announced staffing and facility updates: the district is bringing back elementary music and choir, plans two intervention specialists focused on special-education supports (noting about 20 percent of students are on IEPs), and is finalizing safety work on the new track before opening it. He said he and Bart Rock submitted a request for $40,000 in project-based grant funding to enhance school security — the package would fund stadium cameras, up to 20 computers for monitoring and replacement of faulty entry doors — and the superintendent noted roughly $43,000 in additional grant funding secured in the last month.