Hope School Board
By HPS/HPN staff, 07/20/22 2:21 AMThe Hope School Board met July 14th in a special called meeting. The board covered a broad range of issues at the meeting.
Structure issues at Hammons Stadium were discussed. These included issues on both the home stands and visitor stand. The district hopes to have the work done before football season begins.
The Hope School District has joined a grant cohort to address salaries through recruitment and retention. Teachers could see a $3,000 to $4,000 bonus over the next 2 to 3 years. Further information will be made available at the August meeting. The additional money falls under incentive/bonus pay. It is only available to certified classroom teachers according to the grand. The district is looking into options for classified staff. It was noted neither the governor nor the legislature are looking into addressing classified staff wages.
An update on the building fund includes a rollover of funds which will greatly exceed a self set $800,000 goal. These funds could be used for long-term goals and building projects.
The board voted to purchase curricular materials with ARP funds and a state math grant.
The board discussed the STAR Academy at Yerger. The initial grant provided $900,000 for 80 students to participate. The district will commit $150,000 over three years to be able to include up to 114 students as part of the cohort and providing the program to every 8th grader at Yerger. These additional funds are tied to ARP funding and do not come from district operating funds.
The board discussed the UDL Institute as well as over-identification of the number of special ed students. Training for applicable teachers and central office staff will be available Ms. Wiley is to lead the program.
Teacher and Administrator Recruitment and Retention was discussed and the plan for the recruitment and retention.
The board discussed a “1240” waiver for class size. This was in connection with a residency program in partnership with SAU. An SAU teacher would be shown as the “teacher of record” but the person taking part in the program would teach the actual class in the Hope schools. The application will be sent to the state for consideration.
The board agreed to a one year contract with EcoEvasive for spraying and treatment of facilities. Getting the approval now will allow them to spray before school starts. This will be paid for by ARP funds. ARP funds will also be used for an intercom system at Clinton Primary.
Personnel matters closed out the meeting. All personnel presented to the board were accepted for hire.
