JACKSON SCHOOLS SET OCT. 5 VOTE

JACKSON -- A special election will be held Oct. 5 to decide whether to raise the Jackson Public Schools' operating levy to the minimum required by the new state school foundation formula.

The Jackson Board of Education voted Wednesday to set the special election.

The state levy requirement is $2.75 per household. Jackson is currently at $2.63. Voters must approve the measure or the district will face severe penalties.

"It's going to be a chore to get people to understand the technicalities behind this proposition," said Darrell Hanschen, school board president. "We're going to have our work cut out for us in explaining this to the voters.

"The bottom line is, we either have to do this, or the state is going to do it for us," he continued. "I'm afraid that people aren't going to believe it."

The board will spend most of September sending out information to district households to explain the proposition.

In other action, the board set and approved its goals for the upcoming school year. They include plans to review:

Concerns and deficiencies found in the District School Improvement Plan.

School district safety plans and procedures for students and staff.

The feasibility of implementing a girls' soccer program.

The district's Gifted (ALERT) Education Program.

The feasibility of expanding the Reading Recovery Program.

Options for improving and expanding existing school science facilities.

"In light of preparing the district to move into a new middle school building, I believe these goals are adequate," Superintendent Wayne Maupin said.

"This is a `needs list' for us. There will be a number of people assisting committee chairmen to reach these goals in the next school year."

In other business, the school board voted to leave lunch and milk prices the same for the upcoming school year.

Lunches will cost $1.20 each and milk will be 20 cents a carton.

The school board also adopted a policy for free and reduced-price lunches for students fitting certain income criteria.

Maupin said about 10 percent of the student body currently takes advantage of the program. That total is about the lowest in the state for any school, he said.

The superintendent said more families within the district meet the criteria but have not applied for one reason or another.

"I suppose we need to educate them about it," said Hanschen. Fliers explaining the state-funded program will be sent home with students at the start of the school year.

In the superintendent's report, Maupin told the board that earth-moving work is steadily progressing at the site of the new middle school. In addition, air conditioning will be installed in the district's annex building by the end of the week.