Local News – Monday, December 21st, 2020
Thursday night at the Salem R-80 High School Library, the Salem R-80 board of Education met for their regular December board meeting. Superintendent Dr. Lynne Reed explained the savings from the refunding of the bonds the board agreed to saved $123,047 and that is about $17,000 more than projected. After the budget update, Reed reported there have been some investments in the Youth Opportunity Program for the Salem R-80 Construction Trades Program, but there is still a ways to go. She said when people review their end of the year tax situation, they tend to look for these type of tax credits that are available with the CBDG grants that are 50% of the investment made over $500. The board then heard from Auditor Matt James from Willow Springs who said the audit went well. He said he offered a clean opinion on the financial statements as well on the federal awards. James said the Salem R-80 School District’s net cash position decreased by $148,472 from $4,883,675.91 for the 2018-19 school year to $4,735,203.37 for the 2019-20. He said the district was very consistent with their expenses, but he did note the district real estate appraised values were up about $2 million dollars which did generate additional tax revenues. Athletic Director Phillip Karr reported on the last Athletic Advisory Committee meeting in December and said the next meeting would be held on January 13th to establish the organization of youth sports in the Salem and Dent County area. The board selected Brecklyn Holt as the recipient of the MSBA Belcher Scholarship Recipient, approved the renewal of the MUSIC liability insurance which offers the same coverage with an increase in cost of $7,000, and they tentatively approved a request from Choir Director Elaine Russell to allow students to travel to a national choir competition in either Orlando or Nashville in April. This will be re-evaluated in February to see where the COVID-19 virus situation stands at that time. The board heard from Amber Pryor about students receiving fine arts credit for multimedia instruction in commercial art and business in a new class being developed as part of the two year business course implementation plan at the high school. The board also approved the mask mandate for the second semester for all schools which was explained in letters sent to parents. If you need more information about the mandate, the information is available on the Salem R-80 website.
The Salem Board of Aldermen will meet this evening at the City Hall Council Chambers at 202 North Washington Street at 7:00. After the consent agenda, the board will hear from City Administrator Ray Walden who will provide an update on a number of city projects. The board will then hear and discuss Resolution #22-2020 that approves the sale of surplus city inventory and personal property that is being deemed obsolete and unusable by the city. The board will then hear Mayor Brad Nash suggest adding Jon Mihalka to the airport board before they go into closed session to discuss personnel. The meeting of the Salem Board of Aldermen tonight is open to the public.
The Dent County Assessor’s office in the Dent County Courthouse has been placed on quarantine through December 29th. The 2021 Assessment forms were mailed on December 16th and can be returned to our office by mail to 400 N Main, Salem, MO 65560, or placed in the drop box in front of the court house, or in the box by our Assessor window. Please make sure you have signed your form and put your phone number in case we have any questions. If you need other assistance with assessments, you may leave a message at 573-729-6010 and we will do our best to return your call as soon as we are able. You can also send us an email at: dentcounty@embarqmail.com. They apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience and understanding.