School Board irons out details for new school year

The Perry County District No. 32 Board of Education held its final regular meeting before the start of the new school year and ironed out a few details at its latest meeting Aug. 9.
The board discussed amending a school policy which would allow patron comments on any item on or off the agenda. Prior to this amendment, patron comments were only limited to something that was on the agenda that night, unless they contacted the board five days in advance.
“I think it will give the board more transparency as well as not restrict the citizens of the community,” Board member Glendon Sattler said.
The Board also approved the adult meal prices for the 2023-2024 school year. Adults pay $4.60 for school lunch, which was no change from the year before. Breakfast is now $2.75 for adults, which is a two-cent increase for last year. The meal prices are set by the state as to make sure schools do not over or undercharge school lunches.
Board President Nancy Voelker also announced that the board will be hosting an event with teachers and other staff to present the changes to the curriculum. The meeting has not yet been set in terms of date and time, but September was mentioned as a potential timeframe.
“We want this to be more of a celebration of the plan we have,” she said. “The teachers and staff have worked long and hard on this plan and it’s something that they are firmly behind.”

Perry County Superintendent Dr. Fara Jones gave an update on the Perry County Middle School project. She said that with the immense amount of rain the area has had over the past few weeks it has made the dirt work for the parking lot difficult.
“They are behind on that,” she said. “The kids will be in the building on the first day, just how they get in and out of it is something that will be interesting. Campus Drive is still closed off. They moved a water main to the other side of the road and the dirt is covering it, but it is not settling like they would hope.”
Assistant Superintendent Craig Hayden gave an update on several things, including an update on the Building Trades house that recently went on the market. This is the eighth house that was class has completed.
“I’m a little bias, but I think it turned out pretty well,” Hayden said.
The house is located at 10 Spring Lake Road in Perryville and went on the market for $299,900.
“This was made by the students and some question the kind of quality,” Hayden said. “Ray Jackson with the city does the inspection and everything is up to code.”
The next meeting will be Sept. 13