Please continue to monitor what is occurring with the state Board of Education as Governor Greitens’ effort to oust Dr. Vandeven as the Commissioner of Education has continued. Dr. Vandeven has done a tremendous job supporting the educators and students of Missouri and it seems Governor Greitens’ primary goal is to replace Dr. Vandeven with someone who supports charter school expansion.
The state Constitution was changed in 1945 to maintain the State Board’s independence from politics. At no time can the Board have more than four members from the same political party. Despite being designed to be independent, it has been reported that the Governor has placed pressure on his appointees to remove Dr. Vandeven. On Tuesday, November 28 two lawsuits were filed. The first was brought by Tim Sumners who was appointed by the Governor only to have his appointment withdrawn, apparently because he didn’t support the removal of Dr. Vandeven. Mr. Sumners is claiming that a board member can only be removed for wrongdoing and must be afforded a hearing. The second suit, brought by Laurie Sullivan, a Springfield teacher, claims the Board “purposely violated Missouri Sunshine Law” at their November 21 meeting because the determination of who was allowed to vote from southwest Missouri was decided in a closed meeting. Most recently only hours before the 9:00 am December 1 state board meeting Claudia Greim resigned her post from the Board. She was the only person who Governor Greitens appointed who voted against firing Dr. Vandeven in November. It is likely the Commissioner's position will be discussed at the meeting today. This situation can change quickly so please stay apprised of the latest happenings. Stadium and Warehouse Freezer: The bid for the stadium renovation and warehouse freezer project was accepted at the November board meeting. The work for both projects has begun with completion scheduled this summer. Early Childhood Center: We will receive the bids for the Early Childhood Center at the end of December and go to the board for approval in January. The project is scheduled to begin in March. Roof Tops: Roof repairs at Fire Prairie, Blue Hills and the District Warehouse are scheduled to go to bid this winter and work will be done this summer. High School Breezeway: We have begun the design phase of the breezeway project. Work will be done this summer and is scheduled to be completed before school begins next year. We are excited to announce that we will have continued use of the Consiglio Wellness Center through December 31, 2018. All Fort Osage School District regularly employed staff, their spouses and dependents, and Fort Osage retirees, their spouses and dependents will have access to the Wellness Center for a fee of $40.00 per person per visit. The Consiglio Wellness Center is a “convenient care” facility located at 1501 NW Jefferson Street in Blue Springs. Medical staff includes physicians and family and pediatric nurse practitioners as well as various wellness providers focused on prevention and urgent care needs. While this is not a substitute for a primary care physician, it will provide a convenient and affordable option for our staff to receive basic and immediate health care. The $40.00 is a fee for service and does not go toward your insurance deductible. A health savings account (HSA) can be utilized to pay the fee for service. Appointments will be taken by phone. Walk-ins are also welcome. Due to federal guidelines, employees and retirees who receive Medicare or Medicaid are not eligible to utilize the Wellness Center. Hours of operation are subject to change but are currently as follows: Monday 7:00 am-12:00 pm and 1:00 pm -6:00 pm Tuesday 7:00 am-12:00 pm and 1:00 pm -6:00 pm Wednesday 7:00 am -12:00 pm (closed afternoon) Thursday 7:00 am -12:00 pm and 1:00 pm -6:00 pm Friday 7:00 am-12:00 pm (closed afternoon) Saturday 8:00 am -12:00 pm As you know, the district will be transitioning all insurance plans to Humana beginning January 1, 2018. Part of our transition to Humana includes moving our HSAs to the Humana/UMB platform. As part of that transition the following will occur:
December 1- your current UMB card will no longer be active.
New Humana branded UMB debit cards will be mailed on/around 12/21/17 to be used on/after 1/1/18. You should also have access to the account via the Humana website beginning January 1st . Also a reminder, if you are new to the High Deductible/HSA plans for 2018, you will not see your first HSA contribution until the January payroll. Please contact Benefits Coordinator, Laura Ford, if you have any questions. For those of you interested, four tickets to the Friday, December 8th Kansas City Comets game will be given away to one lucky winner using the RNG. To enter please send an email to [email protected] with "Soccer" in the subject line. Entries will be accepted until 8:00 am on Monday, December 4. Give Away prizes are not purchased with District funds. Only Fort Osage employees are eligible to enter the drawing. The Fort Osage High School Cheerleaders are Missouri State Champions in the class 4A Small Division! Their score put them 8th out of 104 teams that performed in the entire competition. Christina Freeman, Faith Lockard and Sam Mygatt were selected to the All State Team. Great job ladies!
The Tribal Perk Cafe is a student run coffee shop at Fort Osage High School, that provides our students an opportunity to learn, practice, and experience hands on job skills. The coffee shop is designed to allow our students to expand their job skills, social skills, and increase their work experience as we are getting them ready for post-secondary success. The students not only make and serve the drinks, but they learn and participate in all parts of what it takes to keep the cafe running. From daily clean up, to refills, counting money, making change, logging in daily profits and expenditures, and keeping supply inventory, our students are involved in all aspects of the coffee shop and learning the skills they will need to help obtain gainful employment as adults.
Playgrounds: The finishing touches of installing concrete edging and synthetic mulch around the borders of the playgrounds has gone well. The project was successful as the students have enjoyed the renovated playgrounds this fall. Stadium and Warehouse Freezer: The bid for the stadium renovation and warehouse freezer will be presented to the board in November. The work for both projects will begin later this fall with completion scheduled for this summer. Early Childhood Center: We have completed the design phase of the new Early Childhood Center and will open the project for bid in December. After the board approves the bid, the project is scheduled to begin in March. The school is scheduled to open in August 2019. Roof Tops: Roof repairs at Fire Prairie, Blue Hills and the District Warehouse are scheduled to go to bid this winter and work will be done this summer. High School Breezeway: The design phase of the breezeway project is scheduled to begin in November. Work will be done this summer and is scheduled to be completed before school begins next year. |
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