An old house located near Community R-6 schools has been torn down and the hope is to extend parking opportunities for the location and now it’s a matter of who will finish the job.

At the Aug. 18 Community R-6 school district meeting, it was discussed and voted on unanimously to purchase the gravel for the area of land to begin the process of completing the parking area, according to Superintendent Nick Larson.

“We’re so small, everyone will park there,” Larson said. “We don’t have student or teacher lots. We will likely get more than (a dozen) spaces.”

OTHER ITEMS
• Larson’s report focused on the schools being ready for the opening week – which began last Tuesday. “I am excited about the new year: We’re up about 13 students – at 314,” Larson said. “We also have 10 in pre-K.” Larson also mentioned the beginning of fall baseball for the Trojans. “It will be good for those kiddos,” Larson said. The district will also bring back the lunch buddies program that brings businesses from the community to come eat with the students to build relationships.

• Larson said his biggest goal for 2022-23 is the building of the school improvement plan. “You always want to improve student achievement,” Larson said. “We stack up really well around us, but we always want to strive to be the best.”

• The board unanimously approved the dual credit agreement with Moberly Area Community College.

• The board unanimously approved the tuition rate for students who attend R-6 schools without living there. The rate to attend is $11,239.54. Larson said a student could pay to come to the school but would potentially still be ineligible in athletics. He added that even if you apply to pay tuition you can still be denied enrollment.

• The board unanimously approved the tax rate at $4.55. The rate consists of $4 for operational costs and $.55 for debt service.

• Martinsburg Farmers Elevator won the fuel and lubrication bid for the district. The bid was for $.04 over cost.

• The district unanimously approved its bank agreement with the Bank of Missouri in Martinsburg. “We try really hard to stay local,” Larson said.

• The district’s audit was completed, and it spent over $750,000 in federal funds. A single audit will now be conducted to make sure the money was spent as allocated.

• The board unanimously approved the transfer of funds from operational to capital projects for needs such as a buying of a school bus or fixing a school roof. The transfer was for a total of $162,326. “You are moving your money to your money,” Larson said. The district approved the max transfer for both last year and this year so that number will be multiplied by two.

• The board moved its December meeting up to a date that will not occur during the Christmas break.

• The board adopted the R-0342 annual policy. This policy deals with nepotism – and making sure no one is paying relatives and will abstain from a particular vote - conflict of interest and financial disclosure policy.

• The board discussed the timeline for submitting any bond by the first of the year. Larson said that at the September meeting would be the time the board would potentially discuss any bonds if they decided to apply for one.