Busy meeting for BSB

By Liz Woll, 09/24/19 9:10 AM

BLEVINS – It was a busy meeting, as the school board assessed the first month of the school year and reviewed what still needed to be done.

One of the issues that arose in the first few weeks of the school year was a shortage of buses. A new bus had been purchased before the beginning of the school year, but it took several weeks for it to be properly processed and delivered.  During this time, the school system struggled to provide enough transportation. Despite the bus mechanic’s best efforts, there were often two or three buses down at a time. Several routes had to be temporarily refigured, and some students were held late waiting. The situation has been resolved for the time being, but Superintendent Stephanie Dixon found the problem unacceptable. Dixon asked the school board for permission to purchase an additional bus without waiting for the board’s approval should a similar situation arise in the future. She expressed multiple times that she hoped she would not need to use this authority, but also emphasized what a difficult situation the first couple of weeks had been. The board expressed its concern for the situation and their trust in Dixon by granting her permission to purchase an additional bus “at her discretion.”  

The board reviewed a number of financial issues, including last month’s financial report and a budget for the new school year, but perhaps most noteworthy were a few changes to the basketball game ticket prices. There will be 14 home games this year, not including tournaments, and the price of general admission remains at $5. This means the cost of attending all 14 games would add up to $70. However, there are other options: 

• Season Pass: $50 
• Season Pass with Reserved Stadium Seating: $100
• Senior Season Pass: $35
• Senior Season Pass with Reserved Seating: $50 

The school board hopes this increase will help pay for much-needed new basketball jerseys. The Blevins Hornets basketball season begins October 22. 

The school board also addressed a 5 percent salary increase for all teachers, the purchase of a new school vehicle for driver’s ed, the first principals’ reports of the year, and how to engage students more with the Accelerated Reader program.