Joplin R-8 Board approves split schedule for Joplin High School, start date pushed back to August 24

Following a heated session that lasted more than an hour and a half, the Joplin R-8 Board of Education voted moments ago to approve the split schedule recommended by R-8 administrators for Joplin High School students.

Students will attend school in person every other day and participate in virtual learning every other day to cut down on the number of students in the classroom and hallways and permit more social distancing.

The vote was necessitated when the board deadlocked on the proposal during its regular meeting Tuesday night with Board President Sharrock Dermott and board members Lori Musser and Michael Joseph backing the administrators' proposal and board members Derek Gander, Brent Jordan and Jeff Koch casting no votes. Board member Debbie Fort was on vacation and attempted to call in, but was unsuccessful.

Fort cast the deciding vote this evening, with the other board members' votes remaining the same. Both she and Joseph participated in the meeting via Zoom.

The board rejected, by the same 4-3 margin, an amendment that would return the high school to the five-day schedule beginning Monday, September 28.

Earlier in the meeting, board members agreed to push the district's starting date back to August 24.