School Board meeting recap

by Cole Arndorfer, Grain Valley News

The Grain Valley Schools Board of Education met on Thursday, July 17, for its monthly meeting. The agenda included discussion of six reports, three items of unfinished business, five items of new business, and three sets of board policies.

After opening the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Brad Welle presented highlights from his monthly superintendent’s report. He noted that the district’s financial standing—including health premium overages—looks very strong at this time.

The second report focused on a summer school update. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Amanda Allen recognized the summer school administrative staff for their efforts, noting the many compliments received from students, parents, and fellow staff members.

Welle then reviewed the district’s financial summary and addressed the ongoing issue of student lunch debt. He outlined several potential solutions, including:

• Covering negative balances for families who apply and qualify for the free and reduced lunch program,
• Promoting local community donation efforts to help eliminate student debt,
• Referring debts over $500 to a collection agency, and
• Declaring balances under $500 as bad debt for former students.

Next, the board briefly reviewed exit interview summaries from the past school year.

The final report addressed annual staff training modules for the upcoming year.

The board then moved into unfinished business, beginning with the search for a new superintendent. The district’s request for proposals (RFP) for a search firm closed on July 3, with six firms nationwide submitting proposals ranging from $7,800 to $40,000. The board selected three firms to bring in for presentations and interviews:

• Missouri School Boards’ Association (MSBA) – $15,600
• Ray and Associates – $22,500
• Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates – $26,500

Following this, the board approved the meeting calendar for the upcoming school year and discussed health benefits for staff.

In the new business portion of the meeting, Dr. Welle outlined the district’s CSIP (Comprehensive School Improvement Plan) priorities for the 2024–25 school year. He emphasized an increased opportunity for community engagement compared to previous years.

The board also discussed issuing key cards to board members for access to the Leadership Center.

Additionally, the board considered implementing background checks for current school board members and future candidates.

Next, the board reviewed changes to the district’s policy on administrative cell phone use. Rather than issuing phones to certain administrators, the district will now provide a stipend to cover business use of their personal devices.

The meeting concluded with a brief review of three sets of board policies before the board adjourned into executive session.