School board discusses absences

The Hot Springs County School District #1 Board of Trustees released the average daily absences in each of the schools during their monthly meeting Tuesday night.

The data is cumulative from August through March, showing how many days of school were held in each building along with the average number of absences each building showed for the month.

It is easy to see that January was “flu” month as it shows the greatest number of student absences, primarily due to illness.

It is important to note that athletic and activity absences are included in the report.

For example, in September there were 21 days of school at Ralph Witters Elementary (RWE). There was an average of 10.9 absences each day during September.

The same number of school days were held at the middle school with an average absentee rate of 6.5 students per day and 22.2 students absent at the high school.

The fractions above, .5 and .2, indicate a student only missed half of a day or perhaps a class or two due to doctor or dentist appointments and the like.

In January, “flu” month for the district, the numbers jumped dramatically with RWE showing an average of 20.1 absent students per day, the middle school had 14.6 absences per day and the high school had an average of 30 students out of class per day.

All of the numbers were pulled from the Power School program.

Several maintenance projects are planned for the summer. Maintenance projects do not come out of the general fund, but rather a separate budget, so the costs of maintaining the buildings does not affect the budget used for educating the students.

One of the big ticket items is going to be replacing the generator at RWE. It has had a long life-span, but issues with it now require its replacement.

Other items include carpet replacement in common areas at the middle school and RWE. Carpet will also be replaced in the auditorium and the common area outside the auditorium. There are interior doors to be replaced, lights, intercom system upgrades and an upgraded automatic phone system.

The bus barn will be getting a new HVAC unit along with replacement of some windows. A bathroom remodel is slated for the vocational building and the garden at the middle school will be doubled in size. A green house, purchased through grant funds, will be built at the middle school and arrangements are being made to use a hydrant near the garden to cut down on the cost of watering.

A major item still on the list is a new roof for the middle school. The legislature has a component list for items that will run over $1 million. Currently, the middle school roof is on the component list with a designation of one, meaning it is a critical replacement. The legislature looks over the component list and determines which projects they will contribute to in a given year.

The board also reviewed a preliminary budget for the 2017-18 school year with projected expenditures amounting to $10.9 million.

At this time, all programs and activities are going to remain in place with the preliminary budget, however, that may not be the case for the 2018-19 school year, depending on decisions made by the state legislature.