School board hears report on student performance

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In addition to a presentation of the school district’s annual audit, recognitions of student achievements and a vote taken to fill the position of board of education secretary, the Perry County School District 32 Board of Education heard a report on the district’s Annual Performance Report (APR) when it met in regular session held Dec. 11 in the Old Senior High School.

Every public and charter school in the state has received its APR from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which as one indicator school districts use to inform their Continuous School Improvement Plans. Chief Academic Officer Jane Narrow presented the report to the board of education.

District 32 saw a slight decrease in APR points earned this year as compared to the 2023 report. The APR was 74.8 last year and 70.4 this year. The district remains in the category that the largest percentage of Missouri schools were represented this year, with 230 of 549 schools earning 70 to 80 percent.

“The APR provides schools with valuable information about where their efforts are paying off, and where they have the opportunity to improve,” Narrow said. “At District 32, we have been focusing on three big areas that impact student achievement: attendance and instruction in English and mathematics. Our focus on attendance is paying off as we are nearing our goal of having at 90 percent of students in their seats at least 90 percent of the time. We have not yet seen the impact of changes in instructional practices, however, as our English and math scores on the MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) and EOC (End-Of-Course) tests did not improve significantly. We’re going to continue to concentrate on effective instructional practices as we prepare for this year’s exams.”

The APR used the MAP and EOC exams to calculate student performance and growth.

Other items covered during the meeting were:

– The approval of the following consent agenda items: Nov. 13 regular session minutes; Nov. 22 special session minutes; warrants; program evaluations (2024-25 FY); MSBA policy adoption – GB-1 (Part-Time and Substitute Employment), GBE (Staff Health and Safety), GCBDA (Professional Staff Short-Term Leaves), GDBDA (Support Staff Leaves) and EBBC (Lactation Support).

– Recognition of the PHS Cheerleading Team that competed at the state cheer tournament: Xavier Pfaff, who earned All-State Honors and awards for jumps and tumbling: Annabelle DelRosario; Sopie Seabaugh; Maggie Lefler; Alissa Sandlin; Hadley Hunt; Jillian Gibbs; Lauren Lukefahr and Teagan Masterson. The cheer coaches are Lacey Strubberg and Peggy Anders.

– Recognition of PHS Cross Country Team member Bair Hopkins, a senior, who set a school record on Oct. 19 when he broke the boys’ 5K record with a 16:10:21 finish. The previous record was set by Damian Erzfeld in 1992 with a time of 16:29. Bair went on to earn All-State honors on Nov. 9 with a 16:51 finish for 19th place. The cross-country coach is Shadrick Shafer.

– Four PHS Choir students earned All-State Honors during the 2024 Missouri Choral Directors Association auditions: Sofia Buerck and Ayla Schuler, who earned All-State Second Alternate; and Chloe Cox and Grady Warren were each awarded All-State Honorable Mentions. The choirs are under the direction of Taylor Davis.

– The following items were voted on by the board and approved in new business: a motion to accept the audit report as presented by Debbie Johns, CPA, from Van De Ven CPAs & Business Consultants; a motion to approve the budget to be amended to cover the property and liability insurance increase. The school district is seeing a 29 percent increase this year and will need to amend the expenditure budget to cover the cost. Some schools are seeing as much as a 54 percent rise this year; a motion to approve the proposal for the FY 2026 CTE Enhancement Grant as presented; a motion to nominate Julie Wibbenmeyer as the board of education secretary for the 2024-25 school year; and a motion to approve Gwynivere Newbrough, as the Belcher Scholarship recipient.

– The board reviewed the following MSBA Policy Updates: a) IGBA-1 (Version 1 only) (Special Education); b) IGBE-1 (Students in Foster Care); c) ILA (Test Integrity and Security); d) JFCL (A+ Scholarship program); and e) Policy FFA (Memorials on facilities and grounds)
– Dr. Jones informed the board that three companies had submitted Request for Proposals (RFP) for underwriter services. Each company will be given an opportunity to present their RFP to the board sometime in January.

– The board heard Dr. Jones's presentation of the financial report, received the board newsletter created by Kate Martin and watched the MSBA’s December 2024 video.

In closed session, the board:

– approved the Nov. 13 and 22 closed meeting minutes as presented.

– approved the following motions: the retirement of Kathy Bergmann as a teacher assistant effective Jan. 31, the hiring of Natalie Moldenhauer as a psychologist examiner for the FY 2025-26 school year; Anna Korando as a teacher effective for the FY 2025-26 school year; the updated substitute list; the transfers of Ashley L’Hote (Glueck), who will move from a primary teacher position to an early childhood instructor at the Career Center and Brooke Palmer (Schamburg), who will move from a special education teacher
position to a general education teacher; and the resignation of classified staff member Mary Jo Schwent, who resigned from a custodial position effective Dec. 10.

– Discussion of employee matters.