BSB raises lunch prices, will charge for baseball games

By Staff, 04/9/19 9:54 AM

BLEVINS – Fans of Hornet baseball will soon be paying admission to see the games.

The Blevins School Board, at its April meeting Monday night, voted to charge $5 per person, regardless of age, to Hornet baseball and softball games. Superintendent Stephanie Dixon said after looking into the matter, other districts of similar size charge between $3 and $5 for admission, she added, the district’s auditor has said the school should charge admission as well.

According to Dixon, the district pays $300 per game for officials, and the baseball and softball programs regularly lose money. She pointed out the admission fees won’t turn things around but should help. The board agreed someone will need to be placed at the bus barn and cafeteria to collect entrance fees, but who does this will be up to the district’s Athletic Director and coaching staff.

Lunch prices will also be going up for the district. Dixon said the school has been told it’s not charging enough for adult meals, either breakfast or lunch. Additionally, in looking at the cost of student lunches, the district isn’t making enough to pay for the meals. She told the board the district is looking into improving the quality of the meals and has been in contact with seven or eight companies to find a solution to the problem. However, the board agreed adults will be required to pay $2.25 for breakfast and $3.40 for lunch. For students, breakfast will be $1.75, while lunch will be $2.50.

The board also approved the proposed salary schedule with all but those at the top step getting increases. Blevins has a 21-step schedule and those at the 21st step have topped out on what they can make. The new schedule also clarifies contracts and deals with stipends. As an example, the $,5000 stipend the food service manager received was placed in the salary, bringing it up to $19,000. All those who were on the index were changed to stipends and will be paid for days so nobody loses.

A change was made to the 2019-2020 school calendar. Initially the calendar had the final day of school for 2020 as May 21, but this only had students in school for 177 days, while the state requires a 178-day school year. The board approved changing the last day of school, next year, to May 22, 2020.

Blevins Elementary School Principal Pat Loe said the district has started with the ACT Aspire testing.

Ashley Davis, technical coordinator, told the board she was required to report the district has new filters on the internet for the protection for the students, reminding the panel this is required by law and the announcement must be in the minutes. Davis said the district is using Cysco’s Umbrella program as a filter and it exceeds the state’s requirements. This, she added, is done so the district can stay in compliance with the E-rate program.