SG R-II Connection
Parents & Guardians Edition — Jan. 23, 2024
Good afternoon, SG R-II families,
We are excited to have our students and staff back in the buildings, and we are looking forward to getting the second semester underway.
We would like to share some background information with you regarding our snow day/AMI messages. Thrillshare, our communications platform, allows us to share phone calls, texts, push notifications, website Live Feed updates and social media posts. Throughout the year, the messages come through smoothly and without incident, on time and complete. However, there are times when these communications platforms have difficulty keeping up with the large amount of messages being created and sent by school districts. Specifically, this can happen when many districts across a region are trying to share their messages around the same time due to mass weather events. We were made aware that some of the phone calls and subsequent voicemail messages this past week had some glitches. We have been in contact with Thrillshare, who has been working with providers and carriers during this time. Thrillshare assured us that they are doubling their own throughput to ensure that their carriers are ready to handle all of the traffic. This means adding more capacity to ensure timely delivery of future calls.
We apologize for the inconvenience to families, and we also hope that our community checks our other avenues of communication to see these inclement weather messages when in doubt. The Live Feed on our homepage will have school closure information by 5:30 a.m., even if the texts or phone call messages are delayed. In addition, we post to the district’s Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as the local news stations.
Also, we always want to share that our first priority has been and always will be the safety of our students and staff. It’s important to note that our district is the 20th largest geographically out of more than 500 Missouri school districts. Many of our roads are county roads, and their conditions play a crucial role in our decision-making. We appreciate your understanding, and hope that this information helps as we move forward.
Have a great evening,
Dr. Paul Taylor
Superintendent
PROP SG UPDATES
Budget Update: Throughout the Prop SG process, the district’s priority has been to both invest and spend the bond monies wisely in order to gain the most from our taxpayer dollars for these building needs across the board. Altogether, the district has earned roughly $1,825,736 from the sale of the $20 million bonds, as well as interest on those monies. Through value engineering and continuing to take advantage of cost-saving measures with the expertise of our CMAR and architects, we are hopeful that we will have remaining funds that will allow us to plan and build a quality wrestling/athletic facility.
At this past Board of Education meeting on Jan. 16, Dr. Taylor provided an overview of the budget:
- Bloomsdale Elementary Project: $818,300 (Project Complete)
- Ste. Genevieve Middle School Project: $1,709,400 (Projected Cost — Based on Bids Received)
- Early Childhood Center: $8,200,000 (Projected Cost — Based on Bids Received)
- Ste. Genevieve Elementary Project: $6,500,000 (Projected Cost — Based On Design)
- Projected Total of the Above Projects: $17,227,700
Ste. Genevieve Middle School:
- Construction crews are currently completing drywall.
- All Ste. Genevieve Middle School students, faculty and staff members had the opportunity to participate in filling a time capsule, which was installed in a wall in the elevator addition. Students and staff wrote their names, as well as inspirational quotes or facts about themselves on dragon paw print cut-outs, which were then enclosed in the time capsule to be opened sometime in the distant future.
Early Childhood:
- The district is currently working through the Value Engineering process with Brockmiller Construction and KRJ Architects to identify areas of possible savings.
- The updated site plan can be viewed here.
Ste. Genevieve Elementary:
- The district is hoping to address parking issues in conjunction with the launch of the Ste. Genevieve Elementary project construction. The district has worked with Bauman Excavating to identify possible parking opportunities to undergo in early summer prior to the SGE project construction beginning.
- In the fall, the District was made aware of possible FEMA funding available for Ste. Genevieve County, which could be applied to a storm shelter for a District facility if our district were selected as a recipient. The District learned that we were not chosen as recipients for that funding, and therefore, the Ste. Genevieve Elementary gymnasium will not have a storm shelter integrated into that facility.
Wrestling / Athletic Facility:
- As we move through these Prop SG projects, the district focuses on the projects that are in progress, or that are in the planning stages. Currently, our focus remains on the progress and any pertinent updates for the SGMS elevator addition, as well as finishing designs for the Early Childhood Center. Once the SGMS addition is near completion and the Early Childhood Center is fully underway, our focus will shift to finalizing the design and construction of the SGE project. The planning stage for the wrestling or athletic facility will then follow.
- While our current focus is not on a wrestling facility and/or athletic facility, that does not mean plans have changed in regards to it. What is possible regarding a wrestling/athletic facility is dependent upon what Prop SG monies remain when all prior projects are complete. That being said, the district has been able to complete the BLE and SGMS projects within a budget that is both fiscally responsible and frugal. We plan to do the same with the Early Childhood Center and the SGE project. As we have detailed from the beginning, a wrestling facility continues to be on the project list and at a minimum, a wrestling facility will be completed. Our hope is through proper fiscal management, we may be able to do more and provide a facility that will benefit many more students and programs here at SG.
- Once the timeframe for the SGE project is solidified, more information will be shared regarding wrestling/athletic facility possibilities and its timeline.
GET THE LEAD OUT OF SCHOOL DRINKING WATER ACT
The health and safety of our students and staff is always our first priority. In 2022, the Missouri legislature passed the Get the Lead out of School Drinking Water Act (RSMo 160.077), which set standards for lead concentrations in drinking water in schools. The law requires schools to conduct: an inventory and a sampling, any necessary remediation, and ongoing monitoring at all water outlets used or potentially used for drinking, food preparation, and cooking or cleaning utensils. Here’s what families and employees need to know:
- The deadline under the law is August of 2024, but Ste. Genevieve County R-II School District completed our inventory and tested all of the water sources listed above in December 2023.
- Upon receiving results in January, we began implementing any necessary remediation. Under the new law, school districts are only required to test drinking water outlets and all outlets used for dispensing water for cooking or cleaning cooking and eating utensils. Out of an abundance of caution, Ste. Genevieve County R-II decided to test handwashing sinks, as well.
- Water from every water fountain is safe for consumption, as none of these water outlets have a detected lead concentration of more than 5 parts per billion. (As a reminder, all water fountains are outfitted with filters.)
- Water from every sink is safe for handwashing. To ensure this is clear for our students and staff, we have added signage to these sinks noting that the water is for handwashing only.
- All Missouri public school districts are eligible for reimbursement funds to cover expenses such as sampling, remediation, filtration and other costs associated with complying with the Act. Because all sinks were tested as well, we are able to receive reimbursement for any necessary replacement parts.
Why Test School Drinking Water for Lead?
Lead can cause serious health problems if too much enters the body from drinking water or other sources. Lead is rarely found in the source water; typically, it enters the drinking water primarily as a result of the corrosion of materials containing lead in the service line or interior plumbing. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently has a lead drinking water standard limit of 15 parts per billion. However, Missouri law now requires that all Missouri schools provide drinking water with lead levels below 5 parts per billion.
What Actions We Are Taking?
Our district developed and implemented an inventory, sampling and testing plan. All outlets mentioned underwent sampling, and the results, as well as any necessary remedial measures, are included on our Maintenance & Facilities webpage here. If you would like to learn more about the general health effects of lead or would like to access further resources, see our webpage link above.
MISSOURI STATE LEGISLATURE’S 2024 SESSION
BOARD OF EDUCATION UPDATES
- Filing for Board of Education Election: The annual school board election will be held on April 2, 2024. The filing period closed Dec. 26, 2023, at 5 p.m. Four candidates are running for two positions: David Bova, Geralyn (Geri) Diesel, Mike G. Wolk and Norman Vogt. We encourage everyone to remember to vote on April 2, 2024.
- Board Briefs: Check out the Board Briefs and the Board Minutes from the Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, Board of Education Regular Meeting. This unofficial document includes more context and details than our official Board News. All Board documents, such as the Board News, the presentation and these Board Briefs, are located on the “Board of Education” page of our district's website.
2023 APR WRAP-UP
On Dec. 18, DESE released the statewide Annual Performance Reports (APRs) for the 2022-23 school year. At the two most recent Board of Education’s regular meetings, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lance McClard reviewed the district’s standardized test scores and an overview of the 2023 APR. Dr. McClard shared the following takeaways:
- Unlike through-year testing to determine a student’s growth, the APR is only a snapshot of a district’s scores at one point in time.
- In looking at our state standardized tests (ACT, MAP and EOCs), we see advancement in our scores from last year. In every area, we outpaced the state, and in many subjects, we widened the gap between our scores and the state’s. Our district is showing improvement in student scores and what our teachers are doing is effective for students.
- Our faculty, staff and administrators should be commended for the dedication and hard work they put into preparing our students for success.
- The district will continue to utilize state and local assessments to examine instructional effectiveness and how best to meet the needs of students.
- Ste. Genevieve County R-II is excited to be a part of the Success-Ready Students Network to help build a better pathway forward for student achievement.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Kindergarten Registration for the 2024-2025 school year will be held at Ste. Genevieve Elementary on March 2, 2024, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and at Bloomsdale Elementary on March 23, 2024, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Parents may contact the elementary offices beginning Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2024, to schedule appointments.
Ste. Genevieve Elementary Parents As Teachers also offer FREE Community Developmental Screenings year-round for all children within district boundaries ages 3 months to 5 years. Screening is the process of measuring a child's general health, vision, hearing and development. The areas of development focused on during this screening are motor, language, concepts, social/emotional, and adaptive. To schedule a screening, call PAT at 573-883-4500 ext. 2424.
FAFSA EVENT
SGHS would like to invite seniors and their families to the FAFSA Presentation & Work Night on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 5 p.m. See the flyer here!
2024 POLAR PLUNGE
Save the date and join us for the 2024 Polar Plunge on Saturday, March 23, benefiting our SG R-II Special Olympics team and inclusion events! More info to come!