A $25.00 gift card to Frye's Greenhouse located at 2900 N Buckner Tarsney Road in Buckner will be given away to one lucky winner utilizing the RNG. For those of you interested, please send an email to [email protected] with ‘Plants’ in the subject line. Entries will be accepted until 8:00 am on Monday, May 1. The card will be mailed to the winner's home address. Giveaway prizes are not purchased with District funds. Only Fort Osage employees are eligible to enter the drawing. Thank you for making a positive impact at Fort Osage! Please enjoy time away from school during spring break recharging your battery. While you’re away, know you are greatly appreciated. I look forward to seeing everyone return on April 3. At Fort Osage School District we have dedicated employees who are truly making a difference in the lives of students. I value our staff and I know our school district and students would not be successful without you. It’s important that Fort Osage recruit and retain staff. There are many factors that determine the recruitment and retention of employees including salaries and benefits. It’s crucial to remain competitive among area school districts. Over the past few months, our Human Resources team conducted a thorough salary study in order to determine areas where our scales may be in need of enhancements. Three specific areas were analyzed this year: classified salaries, certificated salaries, and health care benefits. We hired EMS (Educational Management Solutions) to complete our classified salary study and consult on our certificated study. Fourteen area districts were used in our study for all three studies. Private sector data (Centerpoint, Hospital, Food Service Industry, Trucking Companies, etc.) were also included in the classified salary study. We began the study by finding the “Market Value” for different salary placements (both on our certificated and classified scales). We then calculate Fort Osage’s relationship to the market value and if we are within 5% of the market value, that is considered on market. We also identified areas we were below or above market. This study provided guidance on necessary next steps. We are working to prepare recommendations for an enhanced classified and certificated salary schedule for the June Board meeting. Once those recommendations are finalized, more information will be shared. The information explained above is being emailed to staff with a video providing more detail. A survey will be sent via email in the next few weeks to gather feedback from certificated staff regarding our District Career Ladder Plan this year. Over 73% of our eligible staff participated this year and we need feedback on our plan’s strengths and challenges. Districts in Missouri interested in participating next year are required to submit a draft of their plan to DESE by the end of next month. Fort Osage is committed to participating in Career Ladder next year, pending state funding for the program and board approval. Therefore, we need the input of those who plan on participating next year to ensure our plan is inclusive and supports the work in our schools. 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 old Central Office will start to be demolished soon. It will take about thirty days for that to get cleaned up and prepped for a parking lot which will be completed this summer. The Maintenance/Transportation portion of the building is almost complete. Staff started moving in last week and will continue through spring break. Remaining work includes touch up paint, some flooring in the drivers’ break room and electronic readers for the automatic gates. The Technology portion of the building has a potential move-in date for early May. Drywall was just completed. Paint, flooring and trim are the last steps. Kitchen Renovations: The kitchens at Blue Hills, Fire Prairie, Buckner and Osage Trail were completed last summer just in time for the first day of school. 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 south and east walls of the gym have been waterproofed (the black material on the exterior). The brick has started on the south and east sides as well. Over 75% of the duct work is complete inside the gym. Electrical rough-in is also near completion. Nabholz is halfway done grinding the concrete in the gym in an effort to get it ready to receive flooring. Band Room Renovation and Expansion at the High School: The design of the band room renovation and expansion at the high school is complete. Asbestos removal in this area will be completed during spring break. Remaining 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: Once the old Central Office is demolished, that space will be repurposed for additional parking. Additional parking south of OTMS will also be built this spring. The remaining portion of the student parking area (northeast lot) at the high school will be completed during spring break. The current transportation building will also be repurposed for parking this spring. That work will most likely begin in April or May. The addition of a turn lane on Twyman will begin in the late spring or summer. Asphalt mill and overlay on all remaining surfaces on the main campus will be done this summer, just in time before school starts in August. The midway point of the 2023 General Assembly is marked by the legislative spring break which occurred the week of March 13. The legislators returned to session on March 20 for the remainder of the session, which adjourns on Friday, May 12. There are several bills affecting education being monitored. An update on three of these bills is provided below. HB 253- The open enrollment bill passed the House and is now awaiting a hearing in the Senate. The Fort Osage School District opposes this bill as it would have a negative impact on schools across the state. SB 75- In order to help the teacher shortage issue, this bill increases the retirement multiplier to 2.55% for those who serve 32 years. It also increases the critical shortage provision to allow retirees to work up to four years while still receiving full retirement benefits. SB 8- This bill reduces the percentage of assessed valuation paid on personal property from 33% to 31%. This would reduce state revenues by an estimated $600 million. For those of you interested, a $20.00 gift card to Sonic will be given away to one lucky winner. To enter, send an email to [email protected] with "Treat” in the subject line. Entries will be accepted until 8:00 a.m. on April 3. Giveaway prizes are not purchased with District funds. Only Fort Osage employees are eligible to enter the drawing. It’s hard to believe that second semester is nearing its halfway point. Spring sports have begun and spring break is on the horizon. Thank you for continuing to make a positive impact at Fort Osage! You are making a difference each and every day! Team Fort Osage met for the third time this year on February 24. Topics of discussion included the budget, Career Ladder, salary and benefits summary, classified and teacher salary studies, classified work calendars, salary schedules, superintendent advisory committees, student behavior supports, NorthPoint space, business accelerator, wellness program, and legislation (information provided below on each).
Budget I continue to prepare for the fiscal year 2024 budget that begins July 1, 2023. The Governor’s budget proposal includes full funding of transportation as well as the funding of Career Ladder. Separately, DESE has continued to allow districts to use their 2020 enrollment for state funding which has a positive impact on revenue for fiscal year 2024. As I plan for the future, I’m mindful of the state tax cut that will go into effect in fiscal year 2025 which will reduce state revenues by an estimated $1 billion. Career Ladder Career Ladder continues to have a positive impact on our school district. There are additional student clubs, tutoring opportunities, and more support for beginning teachers than ever before. A survey will be conducted this Spring to receive feedback to determine what has gone well and what we can improve with Career Ladder. Salary and Benefits Summary We are planning to send an updated salary and benefits summary document to district employees this summer after the board votes on any new salary enhancements. Classified Salary Study The classified salary study is getting close to completion and we are awaiting recommendations from the company who performed the study. We will be sharing the findings with staff in the coming weeks. Teacher Salary Study The teacher salary study is nearing completion. We will be sharing the findings with staff in the coming weeks. Classified Work Calendars The work calendars for next year will go to the board for approval in March. With the reduction in student days, we will be recommending classified staff additional professional development opportunities. The work days for staff who report only on student days will not be impacted by the change. Teacher Salary Schedule As most of you may recall, probationary teachers receive a contract from the district prior to May 15 with the current year’s salary. It has been our practice to then recommend any enhancement to the schedule at the June board meeting. We will follow the same process this year, but will ask the board to approve the current salary schedule without enhancement in March with another approval in June with the enhancement recommendations. Superintendent Advisory Committees The superintendent advisory committee meeting has continued to provide an opportunity for me to have excellent dialog with staff from around the district. I appreciate the committee members taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with me. Student Behavior Supports We plan to increase behavior supports for next year and have what we believe to be a solid plan moving forward. We will continue to have two K-4 Behavior Classrooms that will serve students who need focused support to develop both understanding of their missing skills as well as intentional practice to develop those skills. These students will begin transitioning back to a regular classroom setting as soon as possible with a gradual release of support. These classrooms are currently at Buckner Elementary. We will then transition the current Lewis & Clark facility to a Behavior Support Center that will have the following classrooms:
NorthPoint Space Located at Little Blue Parkway and Necessary Road, we are excited to be moving forward with a plan to utilize the North Point space for real world learning opportunities. Upon completion, the Lewis & Clark Alternative High School Students will be moving to this space to continue their work with project based learning. The students will begin the year at the Campus Grounds Event Space and will transition as soon as the space is completed in the late Fall 2023. These students will begin working on guided projects that will evolve into client based projects with business partners. In addition, our Missouri Options Program will also move to the NorthPoint facility, allowing more access to job opportunities. Business Accelerator The real world learning opportunities for high school students are being expanded through another offering, Business Accelerator. Business Accelerator is a class facilitated by four certificated staff with the help of our Business Community Coordinator. The students who will be taking this course will hit standards through their work with business partners. This is a half day program where credits can be earned in science, social studies, English and business. This is a partnership with the Blue Springs School District. These teachers will be serving both Fort Osage and Blue Springs students at the Career Innovation Center (currently the Blue Springs Freshman Center). Wellness Program Fort Osage continues to find the best ways to support our staff in their social, emotional and physical well-being. Jenny Flax, District Wellness Coordinator, scheduled upcoming wellbeing events, including a two-part webinar on mental health and a March physical wellness challenge. Find more information on these upcoming events, please see our Wellness Newsletter and our website. Each site has a Wellbeing Champion that can provide you with all of this important information. Legislation There are several bills that are being tracked that would impact Fort Osage. Open Enrollment (HB 253) continues to be a hot topic in Jefferson City. I’ve been working to oppose the bill along with the Board of Education who passed a resolution in opposition of the bill at their February meeting. Another bill of interest is SB 75 which increases the retirement multiplier to 2.55% for those who complete 32 years of service in the PSRS/PEERS system. It also changes the PSRS/PEERs work after retirement rules to allow a retiree to earn up to 133% of the annual earnings limit of a Social Security recipient. Additionally, the bill has a provision that extends the time period a retiree may work under critical shortage from two years to four years. For those of you interested, a $20.00 gift card to QT will be given away to one lucky winner. To enter, send an email to [email protected] with "QT” in the subject line. Entries will be accepted until 8:00 a.m. on March 3. Giveaway prizes are not purchased with District funds. Only Fort Osage employees are eligible to enter the drawing. |
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