Joplin School District administrators on Tuesday will recommend that the Board of Education reconvene a long-range facilities committee to assess the state of the district’s schools and other buildings and suggest where improvements could be made.
The last time this committee went through the process of such a review, in early 2019, it recommended that the board merge the nearly century-old Columbia and West Central elementary schools into one brand-new school that would be constructed from the proceeds of a bond issue to be put before voters for approval.
All of that has since come to pass, with voters approving a $25 million bond issue in June 2020 and the resultant Dover Hill Elementary School opening this past January, followed by the closures of the two older schools.
With board approval on Tuesday, the committee would be formed to review the current state of school district facilities and provide recommendations to the board “regarding high-priority projects which the committee believes the community would support and what facility improvement projects need to be completed to ensure all Joplin Schools students have access to safe, quality and equitable learning environments across the district,” administrators wrote in documentation provided to school board members.
The current long-term facilities plan, which was put together to cover 2019-2025, targeted Columbia and West Central as the biggest high-priority projects, along with Kelsey Norman Elementary School, to a lesser degree. It also highlighted a host of smaller projects deemed necessary across the district, such as window or door replacements, sidewalk installation or repairs, cellphone signal boosts or energy management system upgrades.
The current plan now is in need of updating, officials said.
“We are looking ahead to the next five years by assessing our needs now and into the future,” board President Rylee Hartwell said in a message to the Globe.
In other business Tuesday, the board will review:
• The proposed budget for the 2023-24 academic year.
• Final budget adjustments for the 2022-23 academic year.
• A negotiated agreement between the school district and JESP, the union that covers full-time and part-time custodians, building engineers, bus drivers, bus aides, maintenance employees and food service department employees, excluding supervisors, guards and all other employees.
• A plan to boost community engagement during the 2023-24 academic year.
• Contracts for several student services provided by community partners.
Meeting details The Joplin Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the administration building, 825 S. Pearl Ave. A closed session has been scheduled for 5:15 p.m. for legal actions and personnel decisions.