The previous Ozark School Board meeting was, as predicted, filled with all kinds of great information! I have since received many questions about the salary changes, and I am glad to talk with you individually about them. You can also hear a great 4-minute explanation of the salary changes given at the June board meeting video archive, starting at the 47-minute mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=831FAHSBb10&list=PLmr69vd6v4J4lqZDatLAttxOsiNoT_9Qr&index=24
If you skip to the 1:22:10 mark of that same meeting, you can hear a rousing discussion about the preference for missed deadlines for homework to again be included in academic grades, followed by a discussion about the addition of a dress code to the handbook and the implementation of the policy eliminating the use of cell phones in our schools.
Similarly, this month’s board upcoming meeting is also filled with many important topics. The agenda items are listed – with all the clickable attachments – at https://www.ozarktigers.org/school-board
The Board will discuss for “second read”, then vote on the policies that were considered at “first read” at the previous meeting, plus there will be several more recommended policy updates as “first read” on this month’s agenda as well. These policies will no doubt interest many district patrons with varying degrees of interest, as they include many updates to reflect state law, such as:
– staff leave policies,
– the separation of sports by biological sex as required by law and Ozark’s long-sought decision to cement in writing that separation in bathrooms and locker rooms and overnight accommodations as well,
– the inclusion of homeschool students’ participation in extracurricular activities,
– and the district’s position on cell phone use by students.
The Board will also consider some much-needed upgrades to buses and as well approve contracts on the last parts of the work being done on the baseball fields and other facilities with the money which voters previously approved for those purposes.
Some of the most important and comprehensive reports and documents will be presented:
– the ASBR will be presented, which reports our District “by the numbers” to the State Department of Education, DESE, and gives numerous details of how the District operates;
– the Curriculum and Assessment Plan which details how our teachers help our students learn and grow;
– the Professional Learning Plan which details how our teachers help themselves learn and grow, continually improving their own skills to help our students develop their knowledge and understanding to their fullest potential;
– the Strategic Plan, which guides the direction of the District for the next five years as we endeavor to accomplish all the above.
And that’s just scratching the surface! Please join us on Tuesday, August 26 at 7pm at the OIC at 1600 W. Jackson Street, Ozark!
As always, please feel free to share your comments and concerns. If you prefer private communication via email rather than public speaking at the meeting, Board members’ contact info is located at https://www.ozarktigers.org/school-board, or, if that doesn’t work for you, please feel free to contact me at ChristinaforOzark@yahoo.com
Thank you for the privilege to represent you on this school board!
As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed by me are my own. I speak solely for myself
and do not intend to represent the Board to you in any way in anything I say.
I do, however, fully intend to do my job representing YOU to the board!