West Nodaway raises sub pay, talks upgrades
The West Nodaway Board of Education met in its regular session last Wednesday.
A discussion on necessary facility upgrades highlighted the meeting.
Superintendent Shannon Nolte said the upgrades discussed were changes not made when the district did its last major renovations. The first item discussed was placing lights around the stairs that lead to the football field.
“It’s a safety issue and a lighting issue we’ve wanted to tackle for awhile,” Nolte said. “We have a bid from Coenen Electric in Maryville, but we also talked about some different options.”
The second major issue was the playground surface and equipment.
“We focused more on the improvement of the playground, which at this point is not safe or accessible,” Nolte said. “We’re looking at a tire mulch surface possibly to make the equipment safer to play on and give students with disabilities more accessibility.
“We still need to develop an exact plan of action and a timeline for putting it in.”
The third improvement discussed was concerning the parking lot at the school.
“We have a big parking lot with lots of space but it has deteriorated over time,” Nolte explained. “We need to level it out, then probably start to put chip and seal surface in to protect it and stop it from going downhill as fast.
“Mid-American Road Builders from Platte City came in and presented us with a few options, but there’s nothing set in stone. We’ll look to present a more formal plan about the direction we’d like to go with it at a later date.”
As these items were only up for discussion at this time, no votes were taken.
A notable item in new business was the pay raise for substitute teachers. After the August meeting, Nolte mentioned that West Nodaway had a relatively low pay rate for substitute teachers.
“Since a lot of our substitutes live in Maryville, they are taking closer jobs because we don’t pay enough,” Nolte said. “I’d like to have a proposal ready for the September meeting to raise the pay rate for substitute teachers.”
Nolte presented a proposal at last Wednesday’s meting, which raises substitute teacher pay rates to $80 per day. The measure was passed by a unanimous vote.
Also of note on the meeting’s agenda:
– Concerning athletics, board member Amanda Walker mentioned that the advertisements for football and basketball had not changed from last year. She also said there would be a large meal for fall athletes on the Wednesday night of Homecoming week, and that a bonfire would take place Thursday night after the volleyball game.
– Nicki Honan was elected President of the Classroom Teachers Association for the 2016-2017 school year. Also elected were Vice President Becca Ridnour, Secretary Liz Schieber, and Treasurer Arlene Ward.
– The board approved a measure allowing them to pay half the cost for employees’ wellness screening, which is provided by the district.
The next meeting of the West Nodaway Board of Education is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 12.