When the Mexico School District released its school reopening plan July 31, Superintendent Tammy Lupardus noted in her introductory letter that revisions may happen. The district has made three changes to the plan.

Lupardus shared the changes Tuesday at the board of education meeting.

Some staff members have tested positve for COVID-19 and others have quarantined due to being identified as close contacts. Lupardus did not specify how many staff are affected.

Guidelines focused on students prescreening at home will be combined with staff screening guidelines.

“It really is the guide that [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has put out that the health department will look at,” Lupardus said. “We have been utilizing page 11 for both staff and students.”

Students now will be required to wear a mask when riding the bus. It previously was a recommendation.

“There is just no way we can socially distance on the bus,” Lupardus said.

The requirement is to mitigate exposure risk as bus riders may be classified as a close contact of someone who tests positive. A close contact is someone who was less than six feet from a person with COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes.

“If someone is positive and they are both masked, that creates a very low risk for that individual in the contact tracing,” Lupardus said.

Board president Dustin Pascoe wanted to know if bus capacity will be reduced. The district has looked at ways to limit capacity on buses. Part of the reduction is based on students who opted to learn from home and the district has asked parents to transport their children to school, rather than having them ride the bus.

Buses will have assigned seating. The number of bus riders is fairly consistent compared to previous years, even with those who signed up for remote learning, Lupardus said. Around 230 families had registered for remote learning as of Aug. 12. The registration deadline was Aug. 14.

Masks will be provided on buses to students without one.

Guidance on when a person should wear a mask will be updated for clarity.

A question on the page asked “Can I maintain a safe distance from others?”

The wording of answers was not clear enough and caused some confusion, Lupardus said.

The district has hydrostatic cleaning implements to quickly disinfect and sanitize buses and classrooms. Plexiglass barriers are being offered to teachers and staff that want them.

“The research is not clear that it makes any difference. It is more psychological than anything,” Lupardus said.

Availability of barriers is limited, where one distributor does not have any until the end of September, she said.

“There is a real urgency to keep people as safe as possible, but we have to be wise and pragmatic,” Lupardus said. “We can mitigate the health risks, but we cannot eliminate [them].”

TAX LEVY

Property values decreased in Audrain County from 2019 to 2020, partially due to changes at Spartan Manufacturing and from Ameren Missouri. Total assessed valuation for the district in 2019 was $9.49 million, while it dropped to $9.48 million in 2020. This affected the district’s property tax levy.

The proposed levy increased to $4.5385 per $100 assessed value from $4.4605 per $100. A majority of the levy goes to the district incidental fund, while the remaining portions of the levy go to debt service and capital projects.

Board member Kelli Teel wanted to know if there were any budget concerns with the increased tax levy. Lupardus said there was not a concern yet.

“While the tax rate is not a concern as of yet, I think the amount of money districts are spending that is COVID-related is a concern to most districts,” she said. “It is imperative that we keep kids and staff members as safe as possible, but the sky is not the limit.”

The tax levy update was approved.

IN OTHER BUSINESS

Staff receiving further degrees were recognized by the board of education Tuesday. Donna Peck received her education specialist degree, while Haley Schafer, Elizabeth Seal, Danielle Louder and Jami Williams completed masters degrees.

Pascoe recognized multiple residents for donating to the L. Buford Thomas scholarship fund.

The district receives five grants to provide education to students in the district. They are Title I, which provides funds to cover education for low-income students; Title IIA, also focuses on low-income learning as well as social, emotional and behavioral support; Title III LEP, is for English language learners; Title IVA, provides support to Project Lead the Way and Character Strong programs, along with elementary tutoring and i-Ready; and Title V supports after-school tutoring. Allocations in these federal programs will be less than last year and the district is waiting on final numbers, Lupardus said. The changes are not significant, she said.

The annual Secretary of the Board report for 2019-20 was approved. It is reviewed at the end of fiscal year. The local compliance plan was approved with regard to special education.