North Nodaway looking at propane buses
SKYE POURNAZARI/THE FORUM
North Nodaway third grade teacher Mattie Rhoades and junior high history teacher Reid Hart speak about their classroom efforts at the Jan. 21 North Nodaway Board of Education meeting in Hopkins.
HOPKINS, Mo. — Superintendent Chris Turpin told the North Nodaway Board of Education during its meeting on Jan. 21 that the district was awarded a $125,000 grant to be used for the purchase of propane buses.
He said $50,000 could be spent on each of two buses and $25,000 on a filling station on skids.
Turpin and maintenance head Bo Hansen will be traveling to Hannibal in the near future to look at the school district’s fleet of propane buses. That visit had been postponed until now.
“Hannibal has converted or is in the process of converting their entire fleet over to propane,” he said. “They currently have nine buses.”
The plan is to go over and ride them up and down some of the hilly terrain in that area and see how they perform and talk to the drivers. He and Hansen would then bring back information to the board for discussion.
In other bus-related news, the district is sending some buses to St. Joseph for a recall notice, which should take around three days from start to finish, Turpin said.
He also noted that about $3,400 in required engine repair was found on one of the buses. Bus 167 is the district’s oldest, and Turpin said it is also likely to have some transmission repair coming up in the future.
Non-election notice to be sent
The board approved sending a non-election statement to Nodaway County Clerk Melinda Patton.
Because the district only has three candidates for the three open positions on the board, it won’t have to hold an election in April.
Turpin said this is the first year the district won’t have to pay election costs.
“Sam, we are truly gonna miss you,” he told Samantha Brown, who will end her time on the board.
Two incumbents, Stan Alexander and Jennifer Clements, will stay on the board for new three-year terms. Megan Roberts will take the third three-year term.
Legislative issues
Turpin said he has been working hard to advocate for the district in terms of legislative issues happening this session. Of the 2,700 bills filed at the time of the meeting, he said around 100 of them are related to taxes.
He said that the Missouri Association of School Administrators is watching over about 500 that deal with education.
“The hot issues, as you guys know, are property tax, income tax, open enrollment,” Turpin said.
He suggested that as elected officials, their opinions matter, and he hoped they would make their positions known to state legislators.
Other news
- The board approved adding Grant Smail, Mitchell Day, Erica Werschinger, Abigail Swink, Kaitlyn Saint and Emma Hamilton to the substitute teacher list.
- Board members approved the first reading of the 2026-2027 school calendar. As it stands currently, the first day of school will be Aug. 24 and the last day will be May 18.
- Turpin told the board that they are close to completing the office space and restroom at the bus barn. With help from vocational agriculture instructor Troy Nally, students have been able to help with some of the work and gain experience in building the metal walls and hanging sheetrock. He said with the district’s CO2 fan system, it will be safe for drivers to start their buses inside and wait in a warm office area while they warm up.
- Middle School/High School Principal Cody Jenkins said that filming at the school for Clayton Scott’s upcoming movie is complete. He noted that it was quite cold for the three scenes and two hours it took to complete. Turpin thanked district food service director Cristi Fountain for thinking of the students and preparing some homemade hot chocolate for them. “The kids really enjoyed having that at the very end,” he said.
- Turpin thanked the board as part of School Board Appreciation Month. Several student organizations and the district provided treats during last month’s meeting. “We appreciate the sacrifice you give to our school,” he said.
- According to closed session minutes, the board approved a three-year rolling contract for Turpin through the 2028-2029 school year.
