JOPLIN, Mo. —
The Joplin Board of Education on Tuesday will consider a proposal that would redraw some of the school district’s attendance zones and change the schools that many students attend in the fall.
Board President Randy Steele said board members are expected to vote on the proposal. He said it has been modified since it was introduced to the public earlier this month, but he declined on Friday to discuss any changes to the plan, saying that administrators were still working out details.
“The modifications we’re looking at right now and will hopefully have those ready by Monday,” he said.
Under the proposal as it was presented Feb. 5, the redrawn boundaries, which dictate the schools that students attend based on their addresses, would mean that 24 elementary students from Jefferson would be moved to Columbia; 28 students from Cecil Floyd and 22 students from Stapleton would be moved to Irving; 84 students from McKinley would be moved to the elementary school at East Middle School; and 47 students from Royal Heights would be moved to McKinley.
The plan also would change the middle schools into which four elementary schools currently feed students. Cecil Floyd students would attend North Middle School instead of South Middle School; Royal Heights students would attend East instead of North; students at Kelsey Norman would attend South instead of East; and Emerson students, combined with Irving students, would attend South instead of North.
Administrators have said the plan was spurred by the consolidation of several schools after the May 2011 tornado as well as the post-storm population shift in the city. They also have said the changes are an attempt to balance enrollment, particularly among the middle schools; to ease overcrowding in schools already filled to capacity; to free space at schools located in the tornado zone, where growth is anticipated; and to balance percentages of students eligible for free and reduced-rate lunches.
More than half of the 14 parents who spoke on the proposal during a public hearing last week said they did not favor it, citing their unhappiness with their children attending a different middle school and their concern about the speed with which the plan has moved through administration. Most of them were parents of Cecil Floyd students.
In other business Tuesday, the board will:
• Discuss the calendar for the 2013-14 academic year. The board will accept public comments on the proposed calendar between its work session and its regularly scheduled meeting.
• Consider approval of several construction-related items, including a bid package for metal studs, drywall and ceilings at East Middle School, as well as a bid package for communications and security and a proposal for boring at the high school.
• Consider approval of a six-day trip to Orlando, Fla., during spring break 2014 for the Joplin High School band to compete and perform.
Meeting details
The Joplin Board of Education will meet for a work session at 5:30 p.m. and its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the administration building, 3901 E. 32nd St. Closed sessions for discussion of legal and real estate matters and personnel issues are scheduled to follow each meeting.
Local News
School redistricting plan scheduled for board vote
Changes to proposal being prepared
- Local News
-
-
Jasper County to start enforcing newly adopted nuisance ordinance
Jasper County has received 15 complaints based on a new nuisance ordinance adopted earlier this spring, members of the County Commission said Tuesday. John Bartosh, presiding commissioner, said he and the other commissioners reviewed the complaints during a meeting last week with workers at the Jasper County Health Department.
-
Neosho School Board votes to boost custodians’ salaries
Action taken Monday night by the Neosho Board of Education on salaries was designed partly to retain custodians. The measure approved by the board gives custodians, with a starting salary of $8.77 an hour, a 10 percent raise.
-
Mike Pound: Carthage holding parties for a good cause
When my wife told me that we were going to host a party, I had only one question: Why? My wife might be the party-hosting sort of person, but I am not. She said this party was for a good cause. She also told me that our friends Lana and Bill, Lee Ann and Rob, and Amy and Jimmy were going to help host it.
-
Proposal would reduce 20th Street to two lanes
A design proposal that would convert much of 20th Street into two lanes instead of four from Main Street to Campbell Parkway to make room for streetscape and green features did not draw much public support on Tuesday.
-
Local runners show support for Boston in cross-country relay
After completing the Boston Marathon on April 15, Ashleigh Beyersdorfer made her way through the throngs of runners to retrieve the bag she had checked in and was on her way to meet up with her family when she heard the explosions.
-
MSSU board to complete terms of president’s departure
The Board of Governors of Missouri Southern State University will meet Wednesday to complete the terms of the agreement that terminated President Bruce Speck’s contract, board Chairwoman Sherry Buchanan said.
-
State’s key witness testifies in murder trial
The fate of Dustin Boggs may ultimately depend on the credibility of Arturo Council. If jurors believe Council, then Boggs, 25, could be convicted of first-degree murder in the 2012 stabbing and shooting death of his ex-girlfriend, Danyel Borden, 21, at his trial this week in Ottawa County District Court.
-
Swimmers attempt to set world record
Even before the instructor had finished giving his direction to the class of young swimmers, 4-year-old Alexa DeBerry had dunked herself underwater and had come up giggling.
-
Missouri moves to lift ban on foreign farm owners
Weeks before a Chinese conglomerate agreed to buy Smithfield Foods Inc. in the largest such takeover of a U.S. business, Missouri lawmakers quietly approved legislation removing a ban on foreign ownership of agricultural land.
-
Neosho Board of Education approves 10 percent raise in effort to keep custodians
School custodians are receiving the biggest percentage raise among salaries approved Monday by the Neosho Board of Education.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Jasper County to start enforcing newly adopted nuisance ordinance
