JACKSON SCHOOL BOARD ENACTS CHANGES

JACKSON -- Missouri School Board Member Recognition Week meant business as usual to the Jackson Board of Education Tuesday night.

Jackson board members were recognized by faculty and administrators with carnations and certificates from the Missouri School Board Association for their service to the district.

"We sincerely do appreciate your efforts, and I think it's probably the best representation of how a government body or organization is supposed to work," superintendent Dr. Howard Jones said during his presentation.

Several policy and curriculum changes were approved by the board for the 1997-98 school year. Board members voted to broaden the existing recreational games physical education class and to add mixed chorus II and English literature II to the high-school curriculum. The request came from principal Vernon Huck after he received recommendations from faculty.

"All of these changes are minimal," said Huck. "We've put a lot of our changes and our thoughts on hold until we see what the future holds for us in the new facility."

In preparation for the Missouri School Improvement Program evaluation scheduled for next week, a final version of the board policy manual was presented and improved. Jones said the document would be available to faculty, staff and the public throughout the school district and in both public libraries in Jackson.

"The goal of our policies isn't just to instruct our work," said Jones. "It is also to communicate to the public what we are trying to do. Our policy manual and our budget guide everything we do."

He said the policies should be reviewed and updated annually as state policy, legislation and court decisions changed.

In a special presentation, Dixie Moore asked the school board to support the Jackson Noon and Evening Optimist clubs in their effort to spread education about children and car safety. The groups sponsor the ABC (Always Buckle Children in the backseat) program, and are promoting awareness about car airbags and child safety seats. The board voted unanimously to draft a resolution supporting the program.

Moore told the board: "We want people to know three things: Always buckle up every child in the vehicle properly -- and buckle up yourself, too; whenever possible put children in the back seat of the vehicle; and always secure rear-facing infant seats in the backseat."

The board voted to accept a bid proposal to purchase three school buses from Central States Bluebird Buses for next year.