Members of the Holden Teachers’ Association Salary Committee requested a $2,000 increase in the Holden R-3 School District’s current teacher base salary and received a small victory, though not as much as they had requested during the regular meeting of the board of education last Thursday night.

The current minimum base salary for teachers employed with the district is $26,000. Teachers are compensated accordingly for higher levels of education and career ladder participation.

“Over the past several years, the salary committee has met with Dr. Harrison (Dr. Lindell Harrison, district superintendent) and the school board to negotiate salaries for the teachers with the realization that funding was limited,” committee representative Mary Burgess explained. “We appreciate what was accomplished within the constraints of the budget. However, this year we feel that budget constraints are not as limited as in previous years.”

Burgess shared an informational article with the board and Harrison that estimates increases in the state’s education budget of $113,000,000. In addition, Burgess told the board it is the committee’s opinion that Harrison tends to be extremely conservative when preparing the budget, leading them to believe the combination of Harrison’s conservative nature and the state’s proposed budget increase, the money to increase teacher salaries significantly would be available.

The committee recommended a total salary increase of $2,000 on the base, bringing the base salary of newly hired Holden teachers to $28,000. According to Burgess, this would be a total budgeted amount for the district of approximately $150,000, which would be in conjunction with vertical and horizontal movement in the salary schedule.

In addition, Burgess said it is the committee’s opinion that Holden R-3 teachers are highly qualified and consistently among the best prepared teachers in the area, if not the state. “Our goal is to retain that standard,” Burgess commented. “Holden R-3 has met the MSIP (Missouri State Improvement Plan) goals so that our next on-site visit has been waived. Also, Holden R-3 was accredited with distinction in 2002-2003.”

Other points outlined in Burgess’ presentation to the board was the district teachers’ participation in common assessments, the A+ Program, the High Schools That Work program, the PDS Program and eMints, all of which, according to Burgess, increases the success of the district’s students, but does require extra time and work on the part of the teachers.

In addition, Burgess pointed out that teachers at the middle school attended the Missouri Middle School Association convention this year at their own expense for lodging, food and travel. “They presented two seminars, which were well received,” Burgess said. “These programs are currently being adopted by other districts across the state.”

Burgess also said she has attended a state-sponsored MAP training session along with teachers representing many other area districts. “Some comments I heard from teachers in other districts included that they were not familiar with GLE’s (grade level expectations). They didn’t know how they would fit into their curriculum and were just getting prepared to use them,” Burgess said. “Not only do we have comprehension of the GLE’s, but most of our curriculum is aligned with the GLE’s.”

Burgess said she feels Holden teachers are representing the district with distinction, but are not paid competitively with the districts Holden R-3 is compared to in its annual report.

“We teach because we love our students and take pride in our jobs. We didn’t enter this profession for money,” Burgess told the board, “but, with the rising cost of living, we face a difficult choice between loyalty to Holden R-3 and being financially responsible to our families.”

In addition, Burgess told the board that it is the opinion of the salary committee that in previous years figures in other areas of the district’s budget have been estimated too high at the expense of teacher salaries. “In the past five years, for one reason or another, increases to our base have been very conservative,” Burgess said. “Every year the teachers in this district are asked to do more, and we do so with pride and dedication. The board has repeatedly stated they would like to do more. This year, we want to see the board move in that direction.”

Harrison presented the board with two salary increase options for their consideration. “I certainly do not disagree with the salary committee that we need to increase salaries,” Harrison said. However, Harrison reminded the board the proposed 2005-2006 budget includes the addition of four new staff members, and he encouraged the board to look at ways to free up money in the coming years, either through the existing levy or by adding a tax levy for salary increases.

Both options presented by Harrison, would include an additional step to the bottom of each education/experience level on the salary scale, additional optional fully paid in-service days, movement of pay day to an earlier date in the month and the appointment of two district committees to research national standards for salary comparison and review the current salary schedule. Option one would include an $800 base salary increase and two optional in-service days. Option two would include a $1,000 base salary increase and only one optional in-service day.

In addition, Harrison told the board that although he is confident the state’s education budget will increase this year, he does not believe it will be as high as $113,000,000. the state legislature has not passed their budget and will not do so until May, Harrison added.

Harrison encouraged the board to make a decision on district teachers’ salaries before the close of the meeting in order to allow the teachers’ contracts to be issued soon.

“The board will always try to do the best with what we can,” board president Jeff Miller told Burgess and the other teachers present. “Unfortunately, we are deficit spending over the next couple of years.”

In addition, Miller told the teachers present that the board has clearly outlined goals for the coming years that include building additions, curriculum improvements and salary increases that will most likely have to be funded by a tax levy increase. Miller also told the teachers that the board would be willing to re-issue contracts at a later date if state funding would become available.

“My concern is you’re going to start losing qualified teachers,” Burgess said. “I’m concerned we will lose this team of good, strong, well-prepared teachers.”

Holden R-3 teacher Terri Sisk agreed with Burgess. “A lot of people are driving here because they like working here,” Sisk said. “People are at a point where they will have to start thinking of their families.”

Sisk also reminded the board that the district’s teachers frequently spend their own money for classroom items and travel to seminars. “You need to consider you may be losing some very good teachers, not because they want to, but because they have to,” Sisk said. “Teachers cannot afford to drive here from Blue Springs when they could just work there for a lot more money.”

Miller told the teachers he feels the board understands their frustration and always makes teacher retention a priority, but does not necessarily feel the money is available at this time. “I wish I could give you everything you’re asking for, but those funds are not available all the time. They have to be found,” he said.

Harrison said he does not believe the $2,000 increase recommended by the salary committee is fiscally possible at this time. “I don’t want to be in a position next year where we have to cut positions,” Harrison said. “I freely admit that I am a fiscal conservative, but I will tell you that when I first put this budget together, I thought we were only looking at a $500 base increase.” Harrison added, the board could use reserve money to fund teacher salaries, but in the coming years, they would have to look at going back to the voters for a levy increase.

Sisk told Harrison she feels that would be an appropriate proposal, and the teachers would be prepared to help the district achieve a tax levy increase from the voters.

“You guys do a wonderful job. I know we can sit here and say that and not get you gas money to get back and forth to school or supplies for your classroom. I wish we could do more,” Miller commented.

Harrison recommended the board choose salary option two, which would give district teachers a $1,000 increase to their base salary. “I don’t feel reasonably confident we can do anything beyond that tonight,” he said.

Board member Mike Watterson assured the teachers that salaries are a concern of the board. However, he said there is no sense in going to the voters with an issue that will not pass. “We have to find the right time and approach it in the appropriate way,” Watterson said. “It has been a concern of the board and will continue to be a concern until the problem is solved.”

After more discussion, a motion was made to approve option two for salary increases, giving the teachers a $1,000 base salary increase. The motion received unanimous approval by the board.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor

A four month long debate regarding the construction of a new auxiliary services facility for the Holden School District was settled with the acceptance of a construction bid during the regular meeting of the Holden R-3 Board of Education last Thursday night.

The board first began researching the costs associated with constructing the building in January when architect Wade Linninger presented a schematic of the proposed building to the board and estimated the total cost to be in the neighborhood of $250,000. However, after requesting bids Linninger returned to the board in February with costs in excess of $300,000.

After researching possible unnecessary features of the building, the board chose to reject all bids and simplify the building’s design in order to construct it more economically.

Last Thursday night, auxiliary services director Larry Arnone presented four new bids to the board for consideration. Specifications for the new, much simpler building include a 60x100x16 foot building on a concrete pad with five garage doors, four entry doors and eight windows. According to Arnone, the specifications did not include plumbing or electricity, which the district is hoping to complete at a later date.

Bids were received from D&D Construction for $249,960, A&C Builders for $212,377.13, Suburban Construction Buildings for $158,416 and Avco for $143,601.

Terri Sisk, a teacher in the audience, told the board she feels, as a taxpayer, the board should reconsider the purchase of such an expensive building before going to the voters for future tax levy increases.

Arnone told the board, Sisk and others in attendance that currently repairs are not always able to be done on the buses in a timely fashion because of a lack of space at the current facility the district leases for bus maintenance.

In addition, Arnone said, in his opinion, bus inspections were affected by the postponed repairs this year.

District Superintendent Dr. Lindell Harrison reminded the board that if the lowest bid was accepted and the proceeds from the sale of the old intermediate school buildings were applied to the purchase price of the auxiliary services facility, the net cost would only be $80,000.

“I don’t know if we’re going to find this any cheaper,” Harrison cautioned the board. “We’ve gone as bare-boned as we can.”

Board member Jim Wallace shared concerns about student safety with the board and those in attendance. “We run 21 buses... They’re not all brand new,” Wallace said. “We’ve got a responsibility to get students to and from school safely, and right now, we’re not quite there.”

Board member Rodger McConville told the board he did not feel the citizens of Holden would look upon the construction of the facility and expenditure involved if they understood the building is not just a “bus barn,” but an auxiliary services building used for bus maintenance, office space and storage space.

After discussion ceased, the board voted unanimously to accept the bid of $143,601 from Avco, LLC for construction of the auxiliary services facility.

In related business, the board approved the purchase of one 71 passenger bus and one type A bus (minibus) from Central States of St. Louis. According to Arnone, one of the buses currently owned by the district has over 300,000 miles on it as well as one of the district’s smaller buses.

The larger bus will be equipped with two integrated seats and undercarriage storage. The smaller bus will also have two integrated seats, but will have tracks on the right side of the bus for additional passenger seats. The cost of the two buses combined is $110,380.

In other business, the board rejected the purchase of an all-metal roof for the high school gymnasium. A bid for replacement of the roof had been accepted at a previous meeting, but board members had asked Harrison to research the cost of a metal roof in the hopes of avoiding frequent roof repairs and replacement. The cost for a metal roof was bid at $220,555. The board chose to allow the roofer to proceed with the previously approved composition roof instead.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor
Tighter stipulations for the City of Holden Clean-Up Day were approved during the regular meeting of the Holden City Council last Tuesday night.

According to street superintendent Larry Miller, the cost to the city for the clean-up day may be higher this year, and in the past he has encountered additional costs related to refrigerators and other appliances that did not have the freon pumped out prior to pick-up. Miller said in the past it has cost the city $10 per unit to have that done.

Miller said he would like to see tighter stipulations for the clean-up day, which has been scheduled for May 21.

The council approved Miller’s request, which includes a provision that appliances must be tagged by a state authorized specialist in order to be picked up by the city. The tag will let city workers know that the freon has been removed from the appliance.

In addition, the council chose to seek bids for the clean-up day. Last year, according to Miller, Norris and Sons Trash Service provided the clean-up service for the city at a cost of $300 per load plus landfill charges. In addition, they provided the city with large dumpsters for $175 each. Miller said the total cost in 2004 was $6,465, plus approximately $400 for tire pick-up by a local entity. Miller said he has already spoken with officials at Norris, who estimated this year’s cost to be around $350 per load plus landfill costs and $175 per dumpster.

Councilman Mark Todd asked whether or not the services could be split up, allowing the city to “get around” the bid process by making each portion’s cost below the amount that forces the city to seek bids.

“I think that would defeat the purpose of having a bidding process,” Karl Timmerman said. “Let’s just seek bids and let the chips fall where they may.”

In other new business, citizen David Hedrick approached the council with a request to allow him to gravel an alley behind a home he recently purchased at 502 East Second Street. Hedrick said use of the alley way would be helpful in his efforts to clean up the property, and he only desires to gravel the alley halfway, from Zoll Street to a portion of his property to keep from disturbing a neighbor’s garden further down the property.

The council approved opening up the alley way after discovering the alley is included on city maps as an alley, but has never been opened. The council told Hedrick he would have to gravel the alley at his own expense.

In other new business, the council approved a plat for Anstine Estates, a new mini sub-division to be constructed at the intersection of Clay Street and 58 Highway. The plat had received a recommendation for approval by the planning and zoning board.

In citizen communications, Audie Mulanax approached the council with a request for research into the possibility of a new cable television provider in the city.

Mulanax reminded the council he had approached them with the request in December but still had not received any information from them. “I know you appointed the council person in charge of the utility committee (to research the project) with a reminder at a later meeting, and I still don’t know anything,” Mulanax told Mayor Terry Hedglin.

Mulanax requested a new councilman be assigned to the project since council person Roseanne Ferguson had been unable to provide him with any information since December when he first made the request. Councilman Charles Shore volunteered to research the project, and Hedglin agreed to join him in his research.

Hedglin told Mulanax he and Shore would try to have some answers for him by the next council meeting in May.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor

Newly-elected board members were sworn in, and officers were elected during the regular meeting of the Holden R-3 Board of Education last Thursday night.

Incumbent board president Jeff Miller was sworn in and re-elected by the board to serve as president. New members Rodger McConville and Renita Dougherty were also sworn in.

Mike Watterson was elected to serve as vice-president of the board, and Patty Raker will remain the board’s secretary. Susan Feeback was the board’s choice for treasurer.

Prior to swearing in new members, outgoing board member Dale Jarman was presented with a plaque and thanked for 13 years of service on the school board.

In executive session, the board accepted the resignations of part-time music teacher Mary Jo Freeman, cheerleading coach Tamera Mortenson, middle school foreign language and family and consumer science teacher Kim Brand and high school physical education teacher and head football coach Chuck Lliteras. The retirement of Marion Robey, who oversees the “Target” program for the district was also approved during the meeting.

In related business, the board approved the hire of several new instructors for the district. Gerald Crouse will be the high school counselor for the 2005-2006 school year. He replaces current high school counselor Jennifer Ailshire. The board also hired Kathy Kilgore to teach fifth grade, Kenneth Harding to teach fourth grade, Janine Slava to teach at the middle school level and Vicky Birkle to teach special education.

Fall and winter coaching evaluations were also completed, and the board chose to retain all current coaches but tabled a decision on the middle school boys and girls basketball positions and football until the next meeting.

In other business, intermediate school principal Donna Fizer presented an update on MAP testing in the district. According to Fizer, in addition to standard MAP testing, students in the district will also take place in a MAP field test in May that will be used to design new MAP tests for next year.

In reports, elementary school principal Robin Sisk presented the board with a community relations report, which detailed ways in which the district is striving to maintain a good relationship with the community.

According to Sisk, the district has logged several complaints from citizens. However, none of the complaints, according to Sisk were serious in nature.

Sisk said several parents have requested access to their children’s lunch account balances online. According to Sisk, with the ParentLink system, parents will be able to have access to not only the lunch account balances, but also attendance records, class schedules and achievement data on a secure link for the 2005-2006 school year.

In other business, district public relations and grants coordinator Nathan Wittmaier requested permission to apply the district for a grant that focuses on features for homeless students in the district.

According to Wittmaier, although the grant is called the Homeless Children and Youth Grant, it is geared not only for homeless children, but for children who do not have a stable home, such as living with extended family or friends.

The grant is a non-matching grant of approximately $15,000 that would be intended mainly for students at the k-5 grade levels. Wittmaier prepared a tentative budget, which included expenditures for tutoring and after-school programs, school supplies, hygiene items, clothes, professional development for teachers, transportation costs and a parent resource library.

According to Wittmaier, expenditures for the program would be coordinated through the elementary and intermediate counselor’s office. The board approved Wittmaier’s request to submit an application for the grant unanimously.

In other business, the board approved district employee health insurance rates for the 2005-2006 school year. The new rates increased slightly from previous years.
The next regular board meeting has been scheduled for May 9 at 7 p.m.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor

The hire of a police officer for a position mutually beneficial to the city and the Holden R-3 School District was approved during the regular meeting of the board of education last Thursday night.

According to Holden Chief of Police Ed Bone, the officer will be a combination of codes enforcement officer for the city and school resource officer. Bone said he believes the school resource officer (SRO) program is among one of the better programs the Holden Police Department has been a part of in the past. Specifically, Bone said the SRO provides a liaison between the school and the police department, helps officers develop a good rapport with the students and helps the school deal with students who have a tendency to exhibit problematic behavior.

“There has not been a shooting at any school in the United States that had a SRO,” Bone told the board. “In fact, Columbine had one (SRO) and had gotten rid of the program.”

According to R-3 superintendent Dr. Lindell Harrison, the district has employed a SRO in the past, but due to budget cuts, dissolved the position two years ago. “We (Harrison and Bone) believe the program had many benefits for us,” Harrison said. Among the benefits, Harrison specifically named assistance with discipline, greater drug resistance among students and familiarity with local law enforcement officials for the students.

Harrison said he believes a SRO would be useful for small infractions that occur at the school relating to drugs and minor violence. “It would be nice to have a liaison to help out,” Harrison said.

The board voted unanimously to approve the hire of the officer for a minimum of one year. During that time, the school will pay half of the officer’s salary, and the city will pay the rest. The officer will work at the school three days per week, and spend the rest of his or her time enforcing ordinances within the city.

The official hire of the officer is awaiting approval by the Holden City Council, who tabled the issue during their last meeting in waiting for school board approval.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor

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