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Cloudy with snow showers becoming a steady accumulating snow later on. Low 13F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 80%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected.
School security issues and how to make sure corners aren’t cut when it comes to after school activities or other events is being taken very seriously at the Siren schools, especially when it comes to the issue of “propping open” entry doors.
As district administrator Dr. Kevin Shetler noted, several noteworthy national school shooting events can be attributed to the shooter gaining access through a propped or unclosed exterior door, and the Siren Board of Education does not want their school to ever be part of such a tragedy.
But there were different takes on how to approach the problem, with several of the board members pushing for more drastic consequences if a staffer or a teacher props a door open, for any reason.
“I want them to know we’re serious,” stated board member James Kopecky, who pressed to make it a policy that if a person was found propping a door, that person would be dismissed outright. “If something bad happens, well …”
Board president Peggy Moore was not as convinced that was the best course of action.
“I’m not in favor of threatening people,” Moore said, noting that it was common policy in the past, if anything to cool off a gymnasium or activity area. “It never used to be a thing.”
After a brief discussion at their Nov. 28 board of education meeting, the board voted to adjust the school policy handbook to include the door propping reference, although it will not be grounds for dismissal, there may be consequences for the person responsible.
In other board business
• The board heard good news on their elementary school numbers, especially in the third-grade classes, where they have so many students, they moved to hire a short-term substitute to allow for a smaller class size and to help in certain situations. They currently have 21 children in two classes, but the new substitute will allow them to adjust the class sizes and activity chaperoning when needed.
• Administrator Kevin Shetler outlined a letter they are sending to their elected representatives, inviting them to attend the school and see for themselves how budgeting issues have affected the district, while also outlining their priorities for the legislature in the coming year.
“There’s going to be lots of jockeying and infighting,” Shetler said on the coming budget battels with a divided government, where the Legislature is controlled by Republicans with a Democratic governor. “We just need to make sure we have a common voice.”
• Native American coordinator Tara Voss outlined the latest numbers on Native students, with 140 students currently, out of 416 total students in the district, meaning they have approximately 33% Native population, which is an increase over last year, when they had 132 Native students out of 405 students.
• Tara Voss also noted that she has applied for a grant to build an outdoor classroom, at a location to be determined later. Board members greeted the possibility with positive comments and noted that it’s something many teachers have hoped to have in place soon.
“Everybody’s very interested,” stated President Peggy Moore. “We just don’t have the money for it yet.”
• There was a lengthy discussion on the possibility of adding cross-country as a full-time sport option for students in both middle and high school, after they added a team at the last minute this fall.
The board generally was in favor of adding the program, and head coach Jeff Howe said that even though they only had a month to assemble a team, they had half a dozen girls who signed up and did well, with more expressing interest for next year, including some middle school students and more boys.
“A lot of middle school kids are excited,” Howe said with a smile. “We’re trying to get the kids who were otherwise just sitting at home.”
Howe said they spent about $650 total last season on the sport, mainly in transportation and meet entry costs, but he noted that several schools waived their fee, since they were trying to build momentum for the program at Siren.
“Webster (waived the fee) because they knew we were just getting started,” Howe said, noting that they will have six meets per season.
The discussion noted that cross-country is a lifelong sport that may bring in students who otherwise would not be involved in athletic activities.
Howe and Shetler pointed out a looming deadline for the district to commit to the sport before early February, otherwise they would not be able to have Siren students compete in regional and sectionals as an official sport.
“We can’t wait until January,” Howe said.
After some discussion on costs, the board tentatively approved adding cross-country and tasked athletic director Ryan Karsten with determining the budget and presenting it to the board at their next meeting, later this month.
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