Drug-Free program loses funding; R-5 district to fill gap

By Steve Moyer

Nevada Daily Mail

Federal funding the Nevada R-5 School district had been receiving for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program a has been discontinued, but during a meeting Wednesday night, Nevada R-5 Board of Education voted to absorb the cost of the program and to continue the program using district funds.

"The Safe and Drug-Free Schools program is a great tool," Safe and Drug-Free Schools coordinator Ranea Schulze said. "There are activities at all levels for students to participate in."

Schulze said the $15,668 from last year went for a variety of activities in all schools in the district and outlined the work done by the team leaders and sponsors, saying the success of the program rested on their efforts.

"Team leaders, sponsors and the coordinator are all paid stipends for the work they do in each building or they do it for Career Ladder hours," Schulze said. "A majority of the success of these programs depends upon the job these people do throughout the year in organizing activities and sharing curriculum with members of the committee."

After the presentation the board voted unanimously that the district fully fund the program itself; however, details identifying any budget items that would change in order to do so were not discussed at the meeting. Superintendent Craig Noah said this morning that the current funding, from a Title IV program, will continue during the 2007-'08 year. After that, an appropriate funding mechanism will be identified.

After the vote, board member Dr. Warren Lovinger commented that he was glad to see the board work so closely together.

"I'm happy to see that we did this with so little discussion," Lovinger said. "Unanimity is wonderful."

Noah updated the board about the on-going discussions about the situation with the Southwest Athletic Conference, the conference Nevada is currently in. The conference could dissolve if Webb City leaves the conference, and no other school has expressed an interest in joining the four remaining schools. Carl Junction was approached but declined. Nevada R-5 and the McDonald County district have both applied to the Big 8 Conference but no decision has been reached.

"On Monday, April 30, we officially applied to become a member of the Big 8 Conference," Noah said. "McDonald County also applied at the same time. We received very positive feedback during the proposal and we are hopeful that we will be able to enter the Big 8. We requested a decision by June 1; this would allow us to plan appropriately for the 2008-2009 school year. We need the time to arrange for officials and referees. You need to get that done about a year before to lock them in."

Noah presented the architectural plans for the central office building and the football concession stand/restroom facility to the board. He noted that the central office would have more space than is currently the case but that much of it was storage.

"Currently we have supplies scattered around this building," Noah said. "The extra space is needed in the new building, especially at the first of the year and we need room to store all the paper and supplies we order in bulk."

The board approved the bid specifications and set the date for a special meeting to open and approve the bids.

Assistant Superintendent Christie Peterson gave the board a presentation on the schedule of the professional development opportunities during the summer for the district's faculty and staff.

"This is a strong reminder that the talk about a teacher only working nine months of the year is wrong," Peterson said.

Noah gave the board the schedule of the end of year activities and said a board member's presence is appreciated but he understood that with the many activities at the school, and the many demands on members' time it would be hard for them to make it to many of them.