Bernie board assures staff of career ladder funding; implements Pandemic Flu Plan

In a lengthy meeting of the Bernie Board of Education this week, board members reviewed several amendments, policies and items presented by Supt. John Boyd after being introduced to new staff members prior to the meeting's start.

Among new business conducted by the board was the decision to adopt a new method by which staff members may charge items or travel expenses. In the past, the district worked with four major credit cards, each with a designated spending limit. This produced problems, Board Secretary Becky Freed explained, when the cards were needed prior to the previous month's bills being paid. Oftentimes, she said, staff members were prohibited from using the card while they were away on student trips and facing expenses.

The newly adopted system will allow the staff to utilize online controls to individual cards and yet use only for purchase order-approved purchases. The new system will involve no fees and will grant rebates for expenditures in excess of $50,000. By utilizing the cards to purchase such items as textbooks and to pay utility bills, Boyd told the board, they would have no problem earning rebates on a regular basis.

The board agreed and gave their unanimous approval of the new system.

Boyd also presented the board with the district's most recent MAP testing results in accordance with the controversial No Child Left Behind mandate. While students fared well overall on the tests, some targets declined to have been met. Boyd, however, in agreement with other Stoddard County superintendents who have openly disclosed their disdain at the structure of NCLB, "We have work to do, but we could see this coming for a long time."

Members of the Bernie School District's CTA Career Ladder Committee made their case during Monday night's meeting, requesting the board's assurance to provide pre-designated funding for the Career Ladder Program for the current school year.

Last year board members placed into the current year's budget several thousand dollars that is annually granted to teachers who complete additional hours of education. The amount granted is in compliance with a pre-determined "step" on the ladder that defines pay in accordance with college credit earned. Many of Bernie's staff members have been attending graduate hours through night and weekend coursework in anticipation of receiving the agreed-upon funds.

Recently the State of Missouri announced they intend to withhold 60 percent of the funding for Career Ladder participants. The Bernie School District had previously agreed to grant the remaining 40 percent to qualifying participants.

After hearing from the CTA committee, board members assured staff members they would remain good on their word to fund the 40 percent agreed to in the current budget. An effort is underway, the committee explained, that urges the state to reinstate the 60 percent funding to which they had previously committed for Career Ladder compensation.

Board members were provided with the 2008-09 school year's audit, presented at the meeting by Don Collins of Robertson, Scherer & Collins, LLP, who informed the board that in spite of a drop in general fund balance of $51,743.97, the Bernie School District was financially sound. Collins stressed the excellent groundwork for the annual audit that was laid by Freed, along with Rhonda Shipman of the district's central office.

Board Regulation Policy 2940 was amended by the board in order to reflect the unanimous decision that mandates school clubs to utilize available funds for such things as club travel expenses before approaching the board for further monetary requests. The clubs will now be allowed to roll over a balance of $100 plus the amount that remains unpaid toward any scholarship awards.

The Board of Education also voted to adopt a Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan. The plan was developed with information obtained by the district's school nurse from the Center for Disease Control. It has been developed to not only instruct district personnel regarding measures to be taken should a pandemic occur, but also to educate personnel as to the course taken on a county and national level should the district ever face an actual pandemic.

In other business, the Board of Education:

* approved the district's bus schedules for the 2009-10 school year.

* approved of the first budget amendment for the current school year.

* approved the Explore Handbook that had been adopted in 1995 and had undergone updates for the current year.

* tabled the approval of retaining the current legal staff for the district until Supt. Boyd can seek price comparisons from other legal firms specializing in school law.

* accepted a letter of resignation from Corey Bennett, who has accepted a position elsewhere.

* approved Linda Beck, Angela Alford, Susan Pearson, Joyce Hughes and Christy Riley to be added to the district's substitute teacher list.