This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 28 min.
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What happened
What happened at this meeting
Bolivar board takes up task force to study 4-day school week 52:42
- A district administrator asked the board for approval to form a task force to study what a 4-day school week might look like for the district, with a recommendation targeted for December. 53:52
- Questions raised at the meeting covered who would compile academic data, whether surveys would include open-ended questions and whether peer districts would be studied, and a staff member said no decision was being made that night. 57:15
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Item by item (14)
- Opening and Pledge of Allegiance 2:53
- The meeting opened with a welcome and the Pledge of Allegiance. 2:53
- Recognitions and commendations 3:20
- The high school speech and debate team was recognized as a state champion team, and a staff member said the team ranked in the top 2% of schools in the association and was in 75th place heading into this season. 3:22
- Ron Owens read commendations including an NSDA All-American honor for a 2026 graduate and thanks to businesses for supporting events and staff meals. 7:52
- Other speakers thanked community partners for staff meals, a Gaga pit at the intermediate school and help with Grandparents Night. 9:25
- Consent agenda and check approvals 11:12
- Early childhood center spotlight 12:03
- The Parson Early Childhood Center principal said the center has 30 staff members and 31 Little Liberators students and is hiring because it is growing. 12:24
- The principal said Parents as Teachers is serving 114 children and the pre-K program has 143 students ages 3 to 5 years old. 14:29
- A teacher said the Missouri Quality Pre-K Grant means families are not required to pay tuition, and the principal said this is the 3rd year in a row the center has received it. 19:31
- Board governance announcements 22:53
- Professional development and assessment results 24:50
- A staff member said the next professional development day on Monday, September 28th, will focus on data, and presented the annual assessment plan for board approval. 25:05
- The staff member said the district had growth in all tested areas ranging from about 1% to almost 6%, with math almost 13% above the state average. 31:26
- The staff member said the results were the strongest performance in district history. 31:26
- Financial report 38:06
- A staff member said local year-to-date revenues stand at $1.1 million, up almost 16%, and total revenue stands at $3.8 million, up 15% from this point last year. 38:31
- The staff member said purchase services are down almost 25% and that supplies include a little over $200,000 for Chromebook purchases. 39:18
- Capital projects update 40:33
- A staff member said the district signed the certificate of substantial completion this week on the Auto Tech, strength training and wrestling spaces. 40:42
- The staff member said a 4-post lift was installed in the Auto Tech area and wrestling mats are scheduled to be delivered a week from the meeting. 40:42
- Liberator Park design request 42:29
- A district administrator said the grass field was built for synthetic turf and keeping grass growing for practice is next to impossible, creating safety issues. 44:43
- The administrator proposed a request for qualifications from an architectural engineering firm, with an initial phase of $2 to $3 million from Fund 4 for synthetic turf, lights, bleachers and perimeter fencing. 46:06
- A motion to approve sending out the request for qualifications was called to a vote. 47:59
- 4-day school week task force 48:21
- A district administrator said elementary teaching posts that once drew 40 to 50 applicants now draw 10 to 12, and asked for approval to form a task force to report monthly and bring a recommendation by December. 48:21
- Questions raised included who would compile academic data, whether surveys would include open-ended questions and whether the MSBA had data or tools to offer. 57:15
- One board member said they prefer a 5-day school week but that the process is a listening process to see what is best for Bolivar. 1:03:31
- Policy updates assigned for review 1:07:05
- A speaker assigned policy updates to individual board members for review, with approvals planned for the next month. 1:07:05
- State A to F grading framework 1:07:58
- A staff member said the State Board of Education approved DESE's proposed A to F grading framework, which assigns an annual grade to every district and school. 1:07:58
- The staff member said the grade will have no impact on accreditation or state funding, and that the threshold rises if 65% of districts meet an A or B grade. 1:07:58
- The staff member also said the homecoming parade will start at 1:30 from the Liberator Park parking lot. 1:19:43
- Assessment plan, tuition rate and routes 1:20:45
- Motions were made to approve the district assessment plan for the '26-'27 school year and the transportation routes for '26-'27. 1:20:47
- A staff member said the tuition rate is automatically calculated and applies to districts with students placed in Bolivar schools, and confirmed the district does not accept out-of-district tuition students by policy. 1:21:09
- Co-op building purchase resolution 1:22:28
- A staff member said the Exceptional Pupil Co-op of 12 school districts is seeking to purchase the old Mashburn Learning Center and needs the board to acknowledge the purchase. 1:22:36
- The staff member said co-op traffic arrives after 8 o'clock and dismisses before 3 o'clock. 1:25:21
- A speaker said the facility's property tax going to Bolivar schools was $3,216, and a motion to approve was called to a vote. 1:26:09
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Video: posted by the district as “Bolivar School Board Meeting 9/17/26”