The Community R-VI School District Board of Education had a relatively short agenda at its Sept. 17 meeting, approving matters involving long-term substitute pay, air conditioning units and a new vehicle.

The district added a third tier of sub pay, with this tier focusing on subs who are committing to six or more weeks of duty, said Superintendent Chad Harter. This tier will pay $200 per day.

Air conditioning unit replacements were approved for the old gym for $30,440 and $11,513.50 for the counselor’s office in the elementary school. The bids were awarded to Mommens Heating and Cooling in Mexico.

The new vehicle, a 2025 Ford Expedition, was approved for $69,787 from Joe Machens Ford in Columbia. The vehicle will be used for student activities. The district continues to use a vehicle that has 205,000 miles and is a 2010 Ford Expedition. Harter said it will be used as a secondary vehicle for student activities when school officials may have two needs arise and other district business. 

Also at the meeting, the board approved the annual financial audit that was performed by the Gerding, Korte and Chitwood CPA firm. 

Bethany Thebeau, a fourth-grade elementary teacher, conducted a presentation at the meeting about a reading program she uses for her students. 

School board members also heard administrative reports from Elementary Principal Jessie Mommens, Middle and High School Principal Bob Davies and Superintendent Chad Harter. Mommens said attendance so far, since August, was 97%, and she also told the board that communication is something educators focus on and each classroom teacher sends home a weekly newsletter. 

Davies passed out a document providing information on pathways students can take after high school, such as college, technical training, the military or the workforce. The document gave advice and essential information on what students need to accomplish and what skills they will need as they plan their post-high school lives. The middle school and high school attendance rate was 95.78% for August.

Harter’s report featured information from a letter from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education about how the district attained 100% compliance on the Special Education Performance Report. Among other information Harter shared was that officials from the National Association of Counties’ Rural Leaders of Economic Mobility will be visiting the district on Sept. 24. Audrain County officials hosted the fall peer exchange and RLEM members visited other places in Audrain County during their visit last week.