 The favorite part of my position is visiting schools. The amount of care and instruction that I see as I walk through the building and into classrooms is incredible. Seeing staff interact with students and engage in learning is tremendous. Thank you for everything you do to help our students be successful!
 Fort Osage is committed to fostering a culture of wellbeing through our comprehensive, supportive and empowering wellness program, inclusive of all staff. Jenny Flax, our district Wellness Coordinator and Karen Hile, Executive Director of HR, are partnering with each building's Wellness Champions to meet the needs of our team. The district's first meeting with our wellness champions is scheduled for the end of January. The team will generate short and long term goals for this program using feedback from staff surveys. Look for an update from these building and department representatives, as well as frequent district updates including newsletters, events and webinars.
 The information below is an update on the various projects that remain from the April 2021 election. The projects are subject to change based on weather conditions, manufacturing and shipping schedules.
District Transportation/Maintenance/Technology/District Office Building: Staff moved into the District office building in late December. Landscaping will be completed in the spring.The additional parking spaces, meeting rooms and the fact that we are all on the same floor is a drastic improvement. The Maintenance/Transportation portion of the building is nearing completion with a potential late February or early March 2023 move in date. Drywall is nearly completed throughout that space. Painting, ceilings, flooring and trim will wrap up the project within the next four to five weeks. The Technology portion of the building has a potential move-in date for sometime in May 2023. Interior framing is starting soon. Drywall, paint, flooring and trim will follow thereafter. Kitchen Renovations: The kitchens at Blue Hills, Fire Prairie, Buckner and Osage Trail were completed over the summer just in time for the first day of school this year. Work on the kitchens at Cler-Mont, Elm Grove, Indian Trails and the high school will be done in the summer of 2023. New Gym at the High School: The new gym is progressing nicely and is still on schedule for a completion date of October 2023. The footings and foundations on the north and south sides of the interior block wall of the gym were just completed. The roof is being installed now and will be completed in the next couple weeks. Slab pours for the north and south sides of the gym will be completed by February 3rd. Interior and exterior walls will begin to be erected shortly thereafter. These walls will tie into the main building structure and form the locker rooms, training rooms, restrooms and main entry. That process will take us through the end of March. Band Room Renovation and Expansion at the High School: The design of the band room renovation and expansion at the high school is complete. Work on this project will start after the last day of school in May and will be completed before the first day of school in August 2023. Entrance, Parking and Road Improvements on Main Campus: The old central office demolition will potentially begin on January 30. That space will soon be repurposed for additional parking. Additional parking south of OTMS will also be built this spring. The current transportation building will also be repurposed for parking this spring. That work will most likely begin in late March or early April. The addition of a turn lane on Twyman will begin in the spring. Asphalt mill and overlay on all remaining surfaces on the main campus will be done in the summer, just in time before school starts in August.  The legislative session began in Jefferson City on January 4 and will continue through May 12. The session is already proving to be extremely eventful with over 170 bills introduced that would impact education. I am keeping a close eye on several bills including SB 5 and HB 253, both which would have a negative impact on schools by allowing for statewide open enrollment. Other bills regarding parents’ bills of rights and charter school expansion have also been introduced.
 For those of you interested, a $20.00 gift card to El Volcan Mexican Grill will be given away to one lucky winner. To enter, send an email to jsnodgrass@fortosage.net with "Mexican” in the subject line. Entries will be accepted until 8:00 a.m. on January 30.
Giveaway prizes are not purchased with District funds. Only Fort Osage employees are eligible to enter the drawing.  Each day there are numerous positive things occurring around the District. This would not be possible without everyone working together toward our goal of creating a positive learning experience for all students. Thank you for doing your part to provide tremendous opportunities for students. Please enjoy the break and we look forward to seeing you when we return.
 Team Fort Osage met for the second time this year on December 8. Topics of discussion included the budget, Career Ladder, health insurance, salary and benefits summary document, classified staff and teacher salary studies, 2023-2024 calendar, Superintendent Advisory Committees, wellness program, and student behaviors (information provided below on each).
Budget I am beginning to prepare for the fiscal year 2024 budget that begins July 1, 2023. A big factor in the District’s local revenue is the assessed valuation. Every two years the county reassesses property and will begin this process in January. There is speculation that the legislature may attempt to cap the increase of assessments which would have a negative impact on our future revenues. Further, the one billion dollar tax cut that legislators approved in September will also impact the state’s budget. The District’s access to ESSER funds will end in fiscal year 2024. There are currently 283 employees participating in Career Ladder. Keep in mind the District pays for 40% of Career Ladder costs while the state pays for 60%. If all staff members meet the level they signed up for, the District’s cost would be approximately $550,000. Health insurance continues to be a major expenditure for the District as last year's cost reached $6.2 million. Beginning January 1, 2023 the District’s contribution will increase from $710 per month to $781 per month. The District’s stop loss (reinsurance for claims over a certain threshold) for each claim will increase from $175,000 to $225,000 which will save approximately $250,000. This money will be used to pay claims and will not impact an individual's health insurance plan. Career Ladder We are seeing positive outcomes for students based on the implementation of Career Ladder. There have been a number of clubs, tutoring opportunities and activities that have been helping meet students’ needs. This spring we will ask for feedback on ways to improve the Career Ladder process. Health Insurance The medical claims are being monitored as health insurance continues to be a large expense for the District. Three of the four plans that are offered to staff are District paid with two of the four plans offering a Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution. The District’s HSA contribution continues to be one of the best in the metro at $74.90 and $124.42 respectively depending on the plan selected. Salary and Benefits Summary Through conversations with staff members, it was suggested that it would be beneficial for the District to provide employees with a summary of their annual salary and benefits. Although this information can be found in the Employee Access Center, I agreed it would be helpful to receive this information in an easy to read format. In the coming days each regularly scheduled District employee will receive a salary and benefits summary in the mail. The document summarizes the salary and benefit contributions paid by the District. Moving forward our plan is to send this document annually each summer to employees. Salary Studies We are currently conducting classified and teacher salary studies to determine Fort Osage’s competitiveness as compared to area school districts. Seven larger and seven smaller districts were selected based on where Fort Osage employees have historically migrated to and from most frequently. After the information is collected the data will be evaluated to determine where improvements can be made. Below is a list of the school districts utilized in the study. 2023-2024 calendar The District has received feedback from employee surveys, parent surveys, Fort Forward, Team Fort Osage, and schools who attend Fort Osage’s Career and Technology Center. Based on this feedback, two drafts will be sent to employees for additional input in the next few weeks. After the feedback is received, it is my goal to make a recommendation to the Board of Education in January. Superintendent Advisory Committees In order to receive additional feedback from staff, the superintendent advisory committees were formed this year. The committee meetings have been extremely beneficial for me to have dialog about various topics impacting the students and staff. I appreciate the committee members taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with me and I look forward to the upcoming meetings during the second semester. Wellness Program We have a new wellness coordinator, Jenny Flax, who will help engage us in health and wellness programming. Wellbeing Champions are being established at each building or department and will begin meeting in January to provide input on activities, events and support our staff needs. We are working to have an event calendar with onsite events, an updated website with all relevant resources and clear communication regarding our Wellness program next semester. Student Behaviors We continue to have conversations and look at ways to provide additional support for staff regarding challenging student behaviors. We are reviewing current programming as well as analyzing student behavior data, student numbers in current behavior programs and input from surveys and stakeholder groups to inform future programming.  We appreciate all that you are doing to ensure every student's story is continually captured through the Intellispark platform. From the beginning of the school year, these stories have been told through three surveys in grades 3-12, over 21,000 High 5s, 1,140 supports, and 600 flags. This information, combined with key connections and student strengths, will support teacher and student success both now and in future school years. This data is amazing evidence of our #onedistrictoneteam approach.
 For those of you interested, a $20.00 Amazon gift card will be given away to one lucky winner. To enter, send an email to jsnodgrass@fortosage.net with "Amazon” in the subject line. Entries will be accepted until 8:00 a.m. on January 2.
Giveaway prizes are not purchased with District funds. Only Fort Osage employees are eligible to enter the drawing.  I’m thankful for the opportunity to work with such amazing educators. The district is filled with individuals who have a passion for student success. Thank you for the countless things you do to make our school a special place. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break!
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