Friday, July 18, 2014

State Auditors to speak to Joplin R-8 Board, lunch prices going up

Representatives from the Missouri State Auditor's office will explain the upcoming audit of the Joplin R-8 School District during a 7 p.m. Tuesday Board of Education meeting.

The auditors visit comes after TAMKO CEO David Humphreys started a petition drive. Since the audit would have cost the district in the neighborhood of $80,000 to $100,000, Superintendent C. J. Huff asked State Auditor Thomas Schweich to do an audit at state expense, something which the auditor's office can do with school districts. Huff noted that Schweich had told him shortly after money began pouring into the district after the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado that there would be an audit at some point.

Communications with the auditors are also listed among the agenda items for closed sessions scheduled to take place following the 4:30 p.m. work session and the regular session.

Auditors are expected to explain how the process will work and give information about when they will begin their work. They are scheduled to be here four days a week, working from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Other items on the agenda:

-Construction updates

-A report on Joplin High School/Franklin Technical Center safety and security features

-A $363,662.74 change order for the Joplin High School construction "due to unsuitable soils at the East drive entrance off Indiana. The money will pay for a mass excavation, according to the agenda.

-A recommendation to pay $24,720.94 to renew enrollment in Microsoft Office Pro Plus for 1,109 district computers.

-A recommendation to pay $23,706.41 for a three-year contract for a web filter and reporting system known as M86.

-A recommendation to pay $64,031.39 for EnVision, a Pearson Education consumable math book for grades K-2 and Words Their Way, a Pearson "assessment tool that allows first through fifth grade teachers a means to gauge a student's individual progress in word study, for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling.

-Administration is recommending increases in lunch prices- from $1.60 to $1.70 for elementary, $1.75 to $1.80 for middle school, and $1.90 to $2 for high school

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Parking stickers are going up to $25 a piece.

Anonymous said...

Couple things...Hope auditors look at that slush fund called bright futures.
Secondly, car stickers $25 AND a drug test. That will increase student bus traffic as well as reduce cars in the parking lots.
And lastly, the high school is being built on mining area, surprise surprise unstable soils. FEMA knew that and closed their eyes...

Anonymous said...

They are just now finding out about "unsuitable soils" at the East drive entrance?

Anonymous said...

7:50--

Somehow, this district must raise more cash in order to support itself. It isn't enough that it's soaking us for taxes, now just getting the kids into school is a nightmare, financially. Car stickers, lunches, computer deposits--is this how they are paying for the extravagances like the turf practice fields, the mission accomplished ribbon, the $150,000 chandelier, and three gyms? I could have gone with simpler and cheaper.