Joplin school board to set last school day w/ R-8 Board of Education meeting agenda

By Joe Hadsall

jhadsall@joplinglobe.com

Students will know Tuesday night whether school gets out on May 24 or May 31.

The Joplin R-8 Board of Education will decide Tuesday night during its regular meeting whether to waive four days of school. The days were missed because of January’s ice storm.

Missouri legislators recently passed a law that forgives school districts in a federally designated disaster area from making up days missed between Jan. 11 and 22.

Joplin’s last day is scheduled for May 31. Students missed four days between Jan. 16-20 because of the ice storm.

Superintendent Jim Simpson said the board will be asked to waive those four days, which will move the last day of classes to May 24.

Other items on the agenda include:

n A decision about installing a synthetic-grass field at Junge Stadium. Ron Pence, senior vice-president of Arvest Bank, has told the board that an anonymous underwriter would finance $375,000 of the project’s cost.

The administration will recommend that the board go out for bids on the project. If approved, the cost would have to be added to the district’s capital outlay budget.

A representative of FieldTurf Tarkett was present at a board work session on April 25 and said his company could complete the project for $780,000. He also said his company had secured a state bid through the Association of Educational Purchasing Agencies.

n Acceptance of a bid to make safety renovations to the visitors’ bleachers at Junge Stadium.

The bid is for the third and final phase of safety renovations. If accepted, workers will close footboard openings and install aluminum seating and handrails.

Heartland Seating, out of Shawnee, Kan., submitted the low bid of $60,021.

n Establishing a cooperative agreement with the city of Duquesne. The agreement is necessary to construct a sewer line for a new middle school to be built on East 20th St.