SCHOOL BOARD HANDLES MATTERS FOR 1997-98

JACKSON -- Board of Education members decided several issues for the 1997-98 school year during its meeting Tuesday night at the Jackson Middle School.

Superintendent Dr. Howard Jones surveyed district faculty and staff on calendar preferences before the meeting. Faculty and staff voted 226 to 55 for a school-year calendar that includes two weeks at Christmas, a four-day Easter holiday and additional weather make-up days at the end of the school year.

"We tacked on some extra days at the end of the semester for snow make-up days instead of scheduling them around dates that people might make plans," said Jones. "Of course, this is still tentative. If it's Christmas and we've had an awful December -- like if we missed two weeks of school -- then all bets are off."

Board members voted unanimously to accept the calendar preferred by the faculty.

Jones also asked board members to reapply for an alternative school grant from the Missouri Division of Youth Services for the 1997-98 school year. The district recently began an alternative program using a partial grant from the division to help at-risk students and dropouts earn school credits in a nontraditional environment.

"We're trying to develop a program that would provide significant support to something we believe we need to have," Jones said. The matching grant would provide a budget of about $110,000 to the district, if approved.

Board members also approved bids on several capital projects and congratulated Middle School physical education teachers for their work with the intramural program. The teachers voluntarily miss lunch each day to work with intramural teams from the sixth and seventh grades.