Local News – Monday, December 20th, 2021
The Salem R-80 Board of Education met in the high school library Thursday evening for their regular meeting. The board heard from the new school auditor, Ken Schultz about the 2020-2021 audit and he gave it a clean opinion as the Salem R-80 school uses cash basis accounting which he said was fairly stated recognizing expenses when paid and income when money is received. Schultz said there is what he called a “caution” paragraph that deals with the unique educational challenges brought on by COVID-19. Schultz said the district had revenues over expenses of $346,746 for the fiscal year after the school had deficit spending the year before of $148,742. He did say the school had additional 2,668,000 in revenues this past fiscal year with most of that coming from the sale of the 2020 General Obligation Bonds of 3.3 million dollars that will help the district save over $123,000 in interest. Schultz talked about fund balances and also talked to the board about the pension plan and where it currently stands. The board approved the audit as presented. Assistant Superintendent John Smith discussed the MAP standards for 2021 data received by the school. The data was not to be used as a performance report or comparison needs. Smith said most school used some sort of hybrid method during the COVID dictated year and he showed the total scores for Salem, the state and then those for the students who were actually attending school in the classroom. The scores showed in almost every case where the students in the classroom faired better than those attending virtually. Smith said MSIP 6 rules will apply as the testing this year will be the new baseline for schools. He said the school is already preparing for the 2021-2022 MAP testing as the Upper Elementary is using a system called Edulastic. This will be discussed more in the new year. Superintendent Lynne Reed said she had some preliminary floor plans for the Tin Gym Project that would be enough to get a bid, but they would not be the final design. As of now, the Tim Gym and the new structure would NOT be attached. She also said she was looking for project leaders for the CSIP programs on student achievement, facilities and teacher recruitment and retention. Board members Steve Patterson and Andrew Wynn were both interested in the facility program, but no one spoke out for the other two programs. Reed also said she would be looking to create a committee for a new elementary school and is going to do a feasibility study on contracting out the school’s food service. In new business, the board was going to discuss the selection of the MSBA Belcher Scholarship Recipient in closed session. The board approved the Missouri United School Insurance Council insurance (MUSIC) for the school that included the same coverage as before and approved declaring surplus property to be sold on deals.com. The board also approved continuing the SRCSP Policy from November before going into closed session.
An accident happened Sunday afternoon at 12:40 on Highway 63 about three miles south of Rolla. According to the highway patrol report, a 2016 Hyundai Elantra driven southbound by 30-year-old Steffen Suggs of Edgar Springs, traveled off the right side of the roadway and went airborne. The Hyundai landed and struck a curb, then became airborne again and struck a large sign. Suggs suffered serious injuries and was transported to Phelps Health by the Phelps Health EMS. Suggs was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. The Hyundai was totaled and removed from the scene by D & D Towing.
The City of Salem Utility Committee Chairman Shawn Bolerjack has called a meeting for this evening at 6:00 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. At the meeting, the committee will receive project updates from Archer-Elgin Engineering, get an update on the utility billing, discuss the one percent discount, discuss water and sewer rates, get an update on the audit of the utility billing and meter project, receive an update on the utility billing software as well as an update on the Exceleron Prepay Project. The committee will also discuss the city hot and cold weather rules for disconnects before they adjourn. The Utility Committee meeting tonight is open to the public.
This holiday season, keep spirits bright by keeping spirits off the roads. The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety is urging drivers to avoid driving impaired as they travel to and from holiday gatherings. Statewide, law enforcement will be on the lookout for substance-impaired drivers, with targeted enforcement efforts now through New Year’s Day. There were 60 people killed and 270 seriously injured in Missouri traffic crashes between December 10th, 2020, and January 1st, 2021. Fourteen of the fatalities and 44 of the serious injuries involved a substance-impaired driver. Those consequences include fines, jail time or even death. Missouri is on pace to see more than 1,000 fatalities on the highways in 2021, the most in 15 years. Have a plan to arrive to your holiday gatherings and home safely. If you plan to drink, don’t drive. Choose a designated driver, call a sober friend, order a rideshare or spend the night. But never drive impaired. If you feel different, you drive different. Missouri’s strategic highway safety plan, Show-Me Zero, focuses on four ways every Missourian can help eliminate traffic deaths – buckle up, phone down, slow down and drive sober.