WORTH COUNTY BOE JUNE MEETING RECAP The Worth County R-III Board of Education met on June 23, 2022 to conduct its monthly and year-end business. The budget included the acceptance of the state’s Base Salary Grant to move the base salary to $38,000. The board also voted to add $1,000 of local money to the salary schedule to help alleviate compression of the salary schedule. Administrators and non-certified staff pay scale received the same 3.2% raise plus years of service increase. The board also voted to increase the board paid health insurance contribution by $25 per month to offset the 5.9% increase in health insurance rates. Included in the 22-23 budget, the board approved the purchase of two new gasoline buses with the help of DERA Grant funds. Overall, the district approved a deficit budget that was needed to add an additional kindergarten teacher due to larger enrollment, make the bus purchases, repair the agriculture building roof, prepare for the increased costs of goods and services, and to meet the state’s minimum salary goal. 2021-2022 showed a budget surplus with additional federal funding, grants the district received, and some additional state funds. The administrators discussed the professional development plan for 22-23 that was approved at the meeting. The professional development plan includes a focus on social-emotional learning, continued work on developing assessment capable learners, opportunities for content area growth for teachers, and a focus on curriculum to continue to align them to state standards and assessments. The administrators will also attend a school safety workshop in early August. In personnel news, the board hired Connie Nonneman as a full-time custodian starting this summer and Johnny Thurman as a route bus driver for the 22-23 school year. The next board of education meeting will be July 18, 2022 at 7:30. More information on the meeting and board of education agendas can be found at: https://www.wc.k12.mo.us/boemeetings

The Worth County R-III Board of Education held a meeting on May 16, 2022. During the meeting, the board filled the remaining teaching positions that were open. Jessica Maschino was hired as the 7-12 grade counselor and Sarah Smith was hired as the 9-12 grade mathematics teacher. The board also approved the graduating class of 2022 and approved the revised Comprehensive School Improvement Plan. The board voted 7-0 to place Proposition Tigers on the August ballot that would renovate the agriculture education building, construct a community center/auxiliary gym, and other needed improvements to the facilities. In administrator reports, Mr. Adwell reported on the 22-23 student council officers, HS summer school that will begin in May 20, and discussed several end of year banquets and award ceremonies. The underclassman awards will take place Wednesday morning on the last day of school. Elementary principal, Mr. Borey, discussed career day where six guest speakers took time to come talk to the elementary students about their professions. He also highlighted the activities of Teacher Appreciation Week and end of year testing incentives and kick-off parties. Many summer professional development opportunities that teachers will attend to focus on ways to improve instruction in the classroom were discussed. Mr. Smith discussed the crowded end of year schedule with activities in full swing. HS track competes at the state track meet the weekend of May 20-21. Summer workouts begin May 24. In other reports, Mr. Healy outlined the planning process as the district looks to attain the new state minimum salary for teachers. The state will fund 70% of the increase based on the current salary schedule of the district. The Governor’s grant is optional for school districts and the district must provide a 30% local match. The budget and salary schedule will be approved at the June board meeting. In summer maintenance work, the board decided to accept a bid for agriculture building roof repair. The board also approved work on high school hallway locker painting and refurbishment. The next board of education meeting will be June 23, 2022 at 7:30. More information on the meeting and board of education agendas can be found at: https://www.wc.k12.mo.us/boemeetings

The Worth County R-III Board of Education gathered on December 16, 2021 to conduct regular monthly business. The meeting was called to order at 8:00 PM by Board President, Patricia Warner. As part of the consent agenda, the board approved the program evaluations for food service and transportation programs. The district is always in need of quality staffing, and bus drivers across the country are at a shortage. The district is looking for substitute bus drivers and activity trip drivers, as well as prospective full-time route drivers. The board also is accepting bids for audit services and renewed insurance with MUSIC for 2022. In administrator reports, Mr. Borey reported on the “Shop with a Cop” program where students are chosen to go shopping and caroling with ten law enforcement officers for part of a day. There are also many other activities going on in the elementary as the first semester closes. As part of the high school report, Mr. Adwell reported on Operation Christmas Cheer where JH students deliver cards and decorations to local nursing homes. Curriculum director and AD, Mr. Smith, reported on the process the elementary is undergoing to research new English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum resources. The superintendent’s report gave an update on the financial standing of the district and an update on the current budget for the 2021-2022 school year. The board was also presented with some of the legislative priorities from the state board of education, including teacher recruitment and retention. The district has developed a plan to continue to take steps in mitigating the spread of Covid-19, while keeping students in the classroom. As part of the plan, the district will begin offering Antigen testing to students and staff who meet the requirements to be tested after Christmas break. In board business, the school board finalized ballot language to place a bond issue on the April 2022 ballot. Board President, Mrs. Warner said, “COVID Relief funds from the federal government have put our district in a unique position. How do we utilize that funding to make our school and our community better? As a board, we would like to see if the patrons of our district are willing to partner with us and help us make some much needed improvements to our agriculture building in addition to building a gym that would provide a place for school activities and community interaction.” More information will be published after the January meeting, but please reach out to the school with questions. The bond issue will be proposed to provide funds for facility development and improvements. A major focus of the bond issue will be to renovate the Agriculture Education Center and construct a community center/gymnasium. Former Ag teacher and current AD/Curriculum Director Josh Smith said, “A renovation of our aging Agriculture facility would create new learning spaces and opportunities for our students to learn hands-on technical skills used in the industry. Reconfiguring classroom and shop areas would modernize our current structure and increase the efficiency of the building. Upgrading our existing space would enhance classroom and laboratory exposures for our students involved in agricultural career pathways, and open the door to partnerships for agricultural learning.” In other business, the board revisited and approved the school’s Return to Learn Plan. Worth County R-III Board of Education filing for 2 seats will remain open until December 28, 2021. The school will not be in session from December 20 through January 3, with teachers returning for professional development on January 3, 2022. The next board of education meeting will be January 20, 2022 at 7:30. More information on the meeting and board of education agendas can be found at: https://www.wc.k12.mo.us/boemeetings

The Worth County R-III School Board held its monthly meeting on November 17, 2021. Board President, Patricia Warner, called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM for the purpose of conducting the regular monthly business of the board. High school teacher, Mrs. Julia Wideman was at the meeting to present to the board about the happenings in her classroom. One of her courses is a dual credit composition course, where students can receive college credit, while in a high school classroom. She also reported on the Veteran’s Day ceremony that she organized to honor our nation’s veterans on November 11. The administrators gave reports on the happenings in their building. Elementary principal, Mr. Borey highlighted the near-perfect attendance at parent-teacher conferences in October. He also talked about many of the Red Ribbon Week activities that took place this year, led by school counselors Mrs. Amanda Pottorff and Mrs. Blaire Owens. High school principal, Mr. Adwell talked about the Multimedia class’s graphics development for game day promotions using the same software that is used in the corporate world. He also discussed the post high school preparations ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders participated in this week. Curriculum director and AD, Mr. Josh Smith showed the board some of the priority standards that are currently being covered in K-12 classrooms. He also gave reports on sports and activities, highlighted by the marching band’s first place finish at Northwest Missouri State University’s Homecoming Parade, Lincoln Moore being selected as first chair bari sax in the highest district honor band, and football’s current playoff run. In board business, the board approved the annual evaluation of the Career and Technical Education Program. The district has many students participating in the programs at Worth County R-III, as well as at Northwest Technical School in Maryville. The school programs of Agriculture, Business, and Family and Consumer Sciences provide many opportunities for students to learn and apply skills that will be needed in many career fields. In other reports, the board heard an update about the district’s financial standing and the status of current and future debt service bonds. The district is in a good place financially to be able to provide opportunities for our students and community, but we must continue to plan and evaluate our facilities and future building needs. The board also announced that there would be an election for two seats on the board to be held April 5, 2022. The seats carry a three-year term and folding runs from December 7, 2021 to December 27, 2021. The next board of education meeting will be December 16, 2021 at 7:30. More information on the meeting and board of education agendas can be found at: https://www.wc.k12.mo.us/boemeetings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Contact: Chris Healy 660-564-3389 The Worth County R-III Board of Education met on October 21, 2021 to hold the monthly meeting. The board met in the superintendent’s office and the meeting included a Zoom presentation from the auditors. Among the items of business were district program reports, the audit presentation, reports from staff and administrators, and the discussion of activity trip bus driver pay. The board approved the district program reviews for the health office and media services for the 2020-2021 school year. The health office does a good job at keeping staff trained in areas of need, providing daily services to students, as well as other screenings. The library evaluation discussed the services that the district is able to provide to the students and community, as well as the awards and incentives provided for the elementary students to encourage reading. The partnership with the county library is a great resource for our school and community. In the CTA report, Ms. Holly Praiswater and Mrs. Mary K Overholtzer talked about their new curriculum materials that have made a positive impact on the instruction in the 7-12 math classrooms. The new text aligns well with the Missouri Priority Standards and provides a lot of resources to give students opportunities to model and solve problems. One feature that they like about the software is the instant feedback it provides to students, so the teachers can adjust instruction and provide early intervention. The district approved the Business curriculum as part of the yearly curriculum revision cycle. District curriculum director, Josh Smith, also reported that the elementary and high school teachers have been working on implementing the Missouri Priority Standards into their current curriculum. Teachers have spent a portion of their professional development time in revising their curriculum and analyzing assessment data to determine instructional goals and needs. Elementary principal, Mr. Borey, discussed some of the happenings in the K-6 building. With the first quarter coming to an end, the elementary announced their honor rolls for the first quarter. He also outlined some of the assessment data that has been used to guide instruction in reading and mathematics. On September 29, the elementary hosted their annual Title I Parent Meeting. Mrs. Tracy, Mrs. Humphrey, and Mrs. Findley organized the event and they were there to help give information about the services that the district is able to offer through the Title I program. Mr. Adwell talked about Red Ribbon Week activities throughout the JH and HS. Mrs. Owens organized trivia throughout the week and had a presentation from the Missouri Highway Patrol about the dangers of drug use. The high school teachers are in the process of School Based Implementation Coaching, it’s a process where teachers can peer coach each other on instructional strategies. In the superintendent’s report, Mr. Healy gave an update on district finances, demographics, and update on grants that the district has received. The district was awarded funding to purchase 75 Chromebook devices and cellular data for two iPads through the Emergency Connectivity Fund. This funding will help the district remain one-to-one with devices for all students. It was also reported that the flooring project will be completed over the weekend with the addition of two hallway logos. In other action, the board of education approved a raise to the rate paid for activity trip bus drivers. The bus driver shortage is an issue in our district and across the country. Along with reviewing scheduled board policies, the board heard a presentation on the 2020-2021 district audit. After hearing the presentation, the board approved the audit for the school fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021. In the final action of the evening, the board approved a budget update to the 2021-2022 district budget. The update includes some money to be used towards tutoring, textbooks and resources, and grants that have been awarded. The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 PM and the next board of education meeting will be November 18, 2021 at 7:30. More information on the meeting and board of education agendas can be found at: https://www.wc.k12.mo.us/boemeetings

WORTH COUNTY R-III STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING The Worth County R-III teachers and administrators participated in professional learning on September 29. Built into the district’s calendar are ten professional development days for staff to acquire and develop skills to improve instructions. On Monday, the staff was joined by members of the Kansas City Regional Professional Development Council to learn strategies on collaboration and instructional coaching. In the afternoon, the teachers and administrators examined data and the new Missouri Priority Standards. As part of the school’s District Continuous Improvement initiative, the staff spent the morning learning strategies on how to provide instructional coaching to their colleagues. These strategies are designed to provide effective feedback that will improve instructional processes. The continuous monitoring of educational practices is important in the development and improvement of curriculum and instruction. One strength of the Worth County R-III staff is the relationships that they have developed with their colleagues. These professional relationships lead to good coaching opportunities and open the door to dialogue that produces solutions. The second portion of the days was focused on looking at the new Priority Standards that were released by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Many of these standards are integrated into the current Worth County curriculum, but the staff continually analyzes data to make educational decisions that will improve instruction. These standards are designed to identify what students need to know, and it’s up to our staff to develop the units to help students master the content. Professional development days are an important part of the educational process. WC staff are constantly examining data to improve teaching practices and to better student learning. The various professional development initiatives are geared toward specific needs identified by the professional development committee. A majority of the 2021-2022 professional development will be focused on the peer instructional coaching to help provide new strategies and improve current teaching practices.

WORTH COUNTY R-III HOLDS SEPTEMBER BOARD MEETING The Worth County R-III Board of Education held a meeting on September 16, 2021 to conduct its monthly business. This meeting is the first meeting for the new school board secretary, Abby Hern. Hern stated, “I’m happy to be here and I look forward to serving as the board secretary.” During the meeting, the board viewed the program reviews for the Federal Programs, Parents as Teachers, and Special Services. The board also approved the tuition rate for nonresident students for the 21-22 school year based on the local tax effort per student. In non-action items, the board was given an update from Concrete Revival, the contractor that did the flooring work this summer, to describe the work that remains in the hallway. Materials will be available in October to complete the flooring work for the district. In other facility updates, the scheduled track structural respray has been completed and the stripe painting will happen later this fall. Introducing himself to the board was Mr. Cree Beverlin. Mr. Beverlin is new to the district and is teaching high school social studies. He also will be the new high school boys track and field coach and assistant high school football coach. Mr. Beverlin said, “he’s enjoyed getting to know the students and staff and is excited to be a part of the community.” In the high school principal’s report, Mr. Adwell highlighted the Homecoming ‘21 festivities that are happening this week. Students and staff have been participating in dress up days and will build floats for the parade on September 17. He also mentioned that there have been several schools in the building recruiting students for area colleges as juniors and seniors prepare for education or work after they graduate. Mr. Adwell said, “it’s exciting to get these colleges back in the building and give some students exposure to opportunities after high school.” The elementary report from Mr. Borey was highlighted by pictures and a description of a fourth grade science experiment. Both building principals also talked about professional development and data team meetings in their buildings. The superintendent’s report covered information about ESSER III federal funding, demographics of the district, and a long range planning committee meeting. The district has an allocation of federal money to spend on improving learning and teaching, as well as other COVID related expenses. The district has developed a plan on how to spend the money and can begin implementing the approved plan right away, but the funds probably won’t be available until spring 2022. Mr. Healy also gave an update on the district enrollment. There are currently 270 students in grades K-12 at Worth County R-III, with the largest class being 27 students in the fourth grade. Last week, a long range planning committee met to discuss and prioritize facility needs of the district over the next one to ten years. More discussion and input from stakeholders will take place over the next few months. In board action, the school board approved the contract with the Area Cooperative of Educational Services (ACES) to provide diagnostic services, consultation, training, public awareness, and other support for the district. The board also passed a resolution to designate school employees as essential. The district had this resolution in place during the 2020-2021 school year and adopted it again at this meeting to ensure the district has the staffing to continue to operate the school effectively. In personnel moves, the board approved additional substitutes for non-certified positions for this school year. More information on the meeting and board of education agendas can be found at: https://www.wc.k12.mo.us/boemeetings

WORTH COUNTY R-III ANNOUNCES HOMECOMING 2021 The Worth County R-III High School Student Council invites the Worth County Community to participate in “Homecoming 2021: Worth County Tigers: the TEAM, the MYTH, the LEGENDS!!” during the week of September 13. With this theme in mind, the parade and the week’s events will focus on myths, mythical creatures, and legends. Each class will select a particular myth or legend in which to focus their parade float decorations. “We hope that the whole community will join us for Homecoming 2021,” said Justina Wimer, Student Council President. “We appreciate the support from businesses and community organizations which continues to increase each year.” If your business or organization would like to participate in the parade or in the business window decorating contest, contact the High School Office at 564-2218 for more information. The Homecoming event will also be a time to remember the alumni of Worth County. “We will be inviting the homecoming queens of 1971, Judy Jennings Houk, 1996, Nicki Dannar Tracy and 2011, Paige McPike to serve as the Grand Marshals of this year's parade,” said Justina Wimer, Student Council President. Events during homecoming will include spirit days throughout the week. The annual homecoming parade occurs on Friday, September 17, at 1:30 with the coronation of Homecoming King and Queen to follow the parade at the High School football stadium. Homecoming week culminates under the Friday night lights with the football game against the Albany Warriors with recognition of the Royal Court at 6:30 pm and Worth County Tiger football beginning at 7:00.

WORTH COUNTY R-III HOLDS AUGUST BOARD MEETING The Worth County R-III Board of Education held its monthly meeting on August 19, 2021. The regular monthly meeting was held after the yearly Tax Rate Hearing. The board was presented with the elementary student handbook, high school student handbook, and employee handbook for 2021-2022. Elementary principal, Mr. Chuck Borey, discussed the kindergarten through sixth grade enrollment of 143 students enrolled for this school year. Mr. Borey stated, “the elementary teachers have participated in professional development on math diagnostic assessment software over the course of the summer and will be ready to implement that resource called Math Equip this school year”. Mr. Adwell reported on the new textbooks and content for the 7-12 grade math courses. He mentioned, “the old textbooks had been used for the previous fifteen years and it was time to update to new text that was aligned to the Missouri Learning Standards.” The district was able to use money from ESSER III (federal funding) to purchase the digital and printed math curriculum content. New activities director, Mr. Josh Smith, reported on fall activities and participation numbers as practices started last week. The superintendent’s report included updates on the budget, information from Tri-County Health Department, the flooring project, and the Cooperative Conference for School Administrators. The district will use funding from ESSER III to provide tutoring and intervention opportunities for all students K-12. Mr. Healy said that the federal funding will be used to address learning gaps, as well as provide opportunities for enrichment activities for our students. The board approved board of education goals for the 2021-2022 school year, approved tutoring options for all students K-12, and set the tax rate for the 2021-2022 school year. The resignation of Kandi Hughes as the Board of Education Secretary was accepted with regrets. Kandi has been the bookkeeper at Worth County R-III for 23 years. Mrs. Hughes stated, “the board has done a good job at directing the school in a positive way in our constantly changing environment.” Kandi was instrumental in the district’s transition to paperless board meetings in 2010. She will continue to help train the new district bookkeeper and board secretary, Abby Hern, until the middle of October. In other personnel actions, the board offered a bus route driver position, and approved substitute lists for this school year. District teachers began professional development days on Thursday, August 19 and the students’ first day of classes are Tuesday, August 24. More information on the meeting and board of education agendas can be found at: https://www.wc.k12.mo.us/boemeetings

Hi, and welcome to the 2021-2022 school year. There have been some exciting changes at Worth County R-III over the summer and this video will talk a little bit about those changes. In this video we have a few back to school items of information. The staff has received their beginning of the year letters, which signals students will be walking in our school doors in a short couple weeks. Students will receive their information during the back to school events or on the first day of school. One piece of information that will be included in these packets will be the “Free and Reduced Lunch Application”. Completion of these forms benefits the school in many ways and is extremely important that everyone turn back in whether they qualify for free and reduced or not. While this year, the Seamless Summer Option of free lunches for all students is still in place, we would really appreciate families completing the free and reduced lunch application. As an incentive to fill out the time consuming form, every form will be entered in a drawing to win one of the multiple Chromebooks or iPads we are giving away. This year, we have seven new staff members at Worth County and are still looking for a full-time bus driver and substitute teachers, drivers, cooks, and custodians. We’d like to welcome the following people to our staff for this school year. Mrs. Amber Hawk will be our new special education director, Ms. Katelyn Halsey is our new Ag Education teacher and FFA advisor, Mr. Cree Beverlin is our high school social studies teacher, Head HS boys track and field coach, and assistant high school football coach. Ms. Holly Praiswater will be teaching HS math. Mr. Ryan Hutchcraft is our new kindergarten through 12th grade PE teacher and he’s also going to be boys golf and assistant JH football coach. Ms. Jamie Degase will be in charge of Parents as Teachers and be an elementary para this year. Codey Sawyer is a new addition to our food service staff. Ms. Jonell Cook will be returning to us in the FACs department. If you see any of these new or current members of the community, please welcome them and show them support. There have been several facility improvements throughout the summer and our custodial and maintenance staff, along with the contractors have done a great job in getting the changes made and ready for the students on August 24. One of the major changes was the removal of the tile in the HS, locker rooms, lunchroom, and elementary restrooms. We were able to use some of the federal funding to upgrade our flooring with a flake, epoxy finish. We also decided to carpet some of the HS classrooms. Take a look at some first look pictures of our new floors throughout the building. We got rid of some of the red and green colors that were present throughout the building on the floors and the walls. We weren’t able to save the Tiger at the center of the hallway from the class of 1962. It was a mosaic of about 30 tiles that were securely attached to the concrete. We do still have a Tiger in the middle of the hallway and we will continue the tradition of not stepping on the Tiger. We look forward to you getting in the building and seeing the improvements. The restrooms have also seen a major upgrade over the course of the last year. We have been able to add touchless equipment, install new stalls, and upgrade the flooring and wall systems in all of the restrooms throughout the building. Another exciting improvement are the locker rooms for the 7-12 grade PE kids and athletes. The new flooring and lockers are a much needed update to both locker rooms and should reduce cleaning and maintenance time for our staff. A couple other additions that were made possible because of donations are the new gym mats, donated in memory of Donnie Waldeier and the softball scoreboard that was donated by Patty and Lynn Trump. There is still a lot of work that needs to be completed in these next 2 weeks to prepare for the start of the school year, but the hard work by all involved has ensured that the improvements were completed on schedule and we are ready for the 21-22 school year. There have also been several educational changes that teachers continually make over the summer. A couple of the highlighted changes are the purchase of new 7 through 12th grade math materials and online content. Our teachers also participated in professional development for new math diagnostic and assessment software to help bridge gaps and find ways to cover new content in the classroom. COVID-19 is still present in our community and around the world. At this time, masks will be optional. We will continue to have a focus on other mitigation strategies to help reduce the spread of any virus. Handwashing and hand sanitizing is important and will be a big focus. We also encourage everybody to cover coughs and place a focus on limiting face touches. The Tri-County Health Department will continue to be the agency that notifies individuals of the need to quarantine for close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. Individuals that are told to quarantine will be in quarantine for 10 days and can test out of quarantine 7 days after their last contact with a person who has tested positive if they remain symptom free. Any individual who has been completely vaccinated will not have to quarantine after a close contact, unless they are experiencing symptoms. Vaccination is one way, along with other mitigation strategies to remain in the classroom and on the playing field as much as possible. Quarantines will impact our educational process and extracurricular activities. We need our students and staff in the building in order to be highly effective. With this in mind, we are asking students, staff, and community members to stay home if you exhibit COVID-19 symptoms. A student or staff member should wait 24 hours after all symptoms have been resolved to return to school. Those that have been diagnosed with COVID-19 should follow the guidance of their healthcare provider. Listed here are some important dates for the next few weeks. Registration for 8 through 12th grade will be August 18. The elementary open house, 7-12 grade sports parent meeting, and 7th grade orientation will be August 19. The first day of school will be a half day on August 24th. Important Dates August 9: HS Fall Sports Practices Begin August 12: 9:00AM-3:00PM Registration for New Students begins daily August 18: 10:00AM-5:00PM Grades 8-12 Registration for Returning Students August 19: 5:00-6:00 PM Elementary Open House 5:30 PM 7-12 Grade ALL Sports Parent Meeting (cafeteria) 6:00 PM Grade 7 Parent/Student Orientation (cafeteria) August 20: 7:00 PM Football Jamboree @ WC (Worth County, King City, Stanberry, Albany) August 24: First Day of School / First Day of Vo-Tech Classes (Early Dismissal 1:00 PM) August 24: 5:30 PM Softball Jamboree @ North Harrison August 31: Picture Day (Elementary, High School) September 2: 5:00 PM First Home SB Game vs. Maryville September 3: 7:00 PM First Home FB Game vs St. Joseph Christian September 13 - 17: Homecoming Week September 17: 7:00 PM Homecoming Football Game vs. Albany There are several ways to find out more about Worth County R-III. We encourage you to go to our website at wc.k12.mo.us and to sign up for “Tiger Texts”. Facebook is another source of information at Worth County Tiger Talk’s page. You can also follow @WorthCoTigers on Twitter. The school’s system for notification about school closings will send automated emails and phone calls. Make sure the school has your updated contact information on the beginning of year forms. Other good sources of information are our local newspapers. They do a good job of covering events and happenings of our district. We also encourage parents and the community to reach out to staff and administration to learn more about what is going on in our school. We have a highly qualified staff that has a passion for educating our kids. There are many different types of lessons that are taught in our classrooms every day that prepare our kids for successful futures. We look forward to seeing 280 students walk in our doors on August 24 ready to learn and represent our school district and communities. This time of year is always filled with the excitement of something new and different, plus the familiarity of seeing friends and teachers every day. Let’s make it a good year and #WintheDay everyday. Go Tigers! Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJaZLSypdOo

WORTH COUNTY R-III HOLDS JULY BOARD MEETING On July 22, 2021, Worth County R-III held its monthly Board of Education Meeting. During the meeting, the board approved the application for the Emergency Connectivity Grant and the Agriculture Program Improvement Grant. The Emergency Connectivity Grant will provide an opportunity to get more Chromebooks in the student’s hands, as some devices expire each year. The Agriculture Program Improvement Grant funds will be used to help with the purchase of tools for the AG shop. The superintendent’s report included an update on financial review for the fiscal year and comparisons to the prior year. The district transferred $201,769 to the capital projects fund and the balance in the operating fund increased by 8.9%. Much of the unbudgeted revenue came from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. The district will organize its long term planning committee to determine the needs of the district and develop a 1, 3, and 5 year plan. The district has also revised and posted the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan for the 2021-2022 school year on the district website. This plan will be reviewed and revised every six months. Board President, Tish Warner, led the board in discussion on board of education goals for the 2021-2022 school year. The board worked through developing goals and will approve them at the next meeting. She also shared some professional development on effective governance. The board of education is required to be trained yearly to stay current on policies and procedures. The board approved the change order for the newly installed epoxy floors throughout the building, adding some square footage to flooring that was refinished. The project is being completed on schedule and custodial and maintenance staff are working hard to have the building ready for the start of the school year. In other board business, the board approved service bids for milk provider, trash service, and pest control. Chuck Borey was approved as Special Education Administrator for the 21-22 school year. More information on the meeting and board of education agendas can be found at: https://www.wc.k12.mo.us/boemeetings The meeting adjourned at 8:52 PM.