June 10, 2024 at 7:00 PM - Harrah Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion: 
Others Present: Paul Blessington, Superintendent, and Leslie Hobaugh, Minutes Clerk

Visitors Present: Shawna Keene, Nela Edwards, Kayla Frey, Brent Dunning, Jeff Lee, Free Jordan, Josh and Tina Price, Brandy Manek, Troy Skorkowsky, David Hairell, Mike McAfee, Amy Johnson, David Miller, Cassidy Miller, Chase Miller, Michele Durben, and Travis Newton. Others may have been present but did not sign the register or the signatures were unreadable.

Discussion:  The new parent loop broke ground on Tuesday, June 4th.  They are currently working on cutting down trees and grading. The project is expected to be completed, except for the striping, by September 2, 2024. The new wrestling facility is moving fast. The plumbing and electrical work is completed.  The next project will be at Russell Babb Elementary.

Discussion:  The contract with Sodexo, Inc. is renewed every year. Nela Edwards, Food Service Director, also reported that the summer feeding program continues through June.  There are five open positions in the child nutrition area at our schools.

Discussion:  Property, Auto, and Liability for 2024-2025 is $577,391.  This is up $16,977 from last year.  The district's deductible is $50,000. OGIG is going to start providing micro-learning training that will have to be completed by all staff members. Twenty-five percent have to complete by March 2026 and the other seventy-five percent will be due by 2027. More information will be provided later on this training.

Discussion:  The OSAG amount for 2024-2025 is $136,132.  This is an increase of $42,240 from 2023-2024.

Discussion:  Shawna Keene reported that we have used these two contractors in the past and recommended that the board approve both contracts.

Discussion:  This contract is approved yearly.  There have been no changes.

Discussion:  This contract is approved yearly.  There have been no changes.

Discussion:  The capacity numbers are approved quarterly.

Discussion:  There were no changes to the Elementary Handbook for 2024-2025.

Harrah Middle School Changes: 1. Updated the Absentee Policy in the middle school section to match the absentee portion of the General Section; 2. Removed pajama pants from "inappropriate attire;" 3.  Removed the word CORE from "Academic Guidelines" to make it refer to all classes, not just core classes.

Harrah High School Changes: 1. Added the following statement to the attendance section - "Any student arriving at school tardy or after having been absent for one or more class periods, must check in at the main office: 2. Removed "This includes all absences (excused or unexcused), doctor visits included" from the attendance section; 3. Added - "This includes online classes taken during a period during the school day. A student absent more than 9 times will not receive credit for the online class;" 4.   Students requesting an excused absence for a non-school associated activity, such as regional/national athletic tournaments, regional/national shows, etc., must be in good standing in all classes with regards to grades, attendance, and discipline.  Requests must be made to site administration no later than ten (10) business days prior to the event.  Approval is not guaranteed.  The following criteria will be considered during determination:  level of competition, length of the activity/tournament, and post-secondary implications.  If approved, a maximum of three days will be excused including travel.  5. Under Cell Phone and Electronic Devises, removed "Conference with the student, loss of device privileges for the remainder of the day and added "lunch detention" in its place; 6. Under Dangerous Weapons and Drugs Possession added - Students portraying substances as illicit/illegal narcotics/drugs, i.e. turkey dope/drugs will be disciplined according to the same policy; 7. Removed flannel/pajama pants and house shoes are not permitted and added (No Costumes) to include items such as tails, ears, masks, etc. to the Dress Code policy; 8. Added to the Activity trip section - students must be in good standing academically and with regards to attendance; 9. Defined the term participate and its variants in the lettering section per Coach Worth's request - *Participate and its variants are defined as actively/directly engaged in on-field or onstage activities as it relates to the specific activity.  Athletes that are present on the sideline or in the audience are not considered to be participating and do not qualify to receive a letter in the activity. 

Discussion: 
Guy Worth presented the Handbook for the yearly approval by the board.  There was discussion regarding the changing of sports. 

The Handbook currently states: Athletes who choose to leave a team during the season or have been dismissed from a team will not be allowed to change to another sport until the end of the season. 

It was suggested to change the wording to allow athletes to change sports as long as they did not leave or were not dismissed for disciplinary reasons and if both sports approved the change.

Discussion:  The meeting adjourn at 9:05 p.m.