R-I board raises meal prices for coming year

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by Patty Cheffey

Students in the Palmyra R-I School District will be paying a little bit more for meals following action by the R-I Board of Education last week.

The board also set the tax rate hearing for the 2021-22 school year for Tuesday, Aug. 24, at 6:30 p.m. and approved several handbooks for the upcoming school year.

Students will pay an additional 5 cents for student breakfast and 5 cents for student lunch.

Adults will also see an increase at 5 cents for adult breakfast and 10 cents for adult lunch.

New prices will be $1.80 for elementary and middle school breakfasts; $1.95 for high school breakfast; $2.35 for elementary school lunch and $2.60 for middle and high school lunch.

Adult breakfasts will be $2.60, and adult lunches will be $3.15.

The board also approved the 2021-22 Free and Reduced meal application forms.

“Approving the free and reduced forms and getting them filled out each year is important as it allows families to qualify for free/reduced meals for their children,” said Superintendent Kirt Malone. “Some school funding is tied to the free/reduced percentage in each district such as federal allocations for Title I Reading and Math programs. 

“We are eligible for the USDA Summer School Option as well,” Malone added. “We are planning to take advantage of the program again this year.” 

During the regular session, the board also hired two new individuals, including Ann Locke as high school secretary; and Rebecca Harrison as a Parents as Teachers parent educator.

With those hirings, the R-I District is down to just needing to hire a middle school boys basketball coach, Malone said.

In other new business, the board reviewed and approved several handbooks in preparation for the upcoming school year.

Those included the iPad handbook, athletic/activities handbook, transportation handbook and the coaches and sponsors handbook.

While there were only a few changes made to the handbooks, Malone noted in particular a couple of additions to the iPad handbook.

“The iPad handbook added a section asking parents to express to their children the dangers of sharing personal information over the internet, and they are prohibited from sharing that information,” he said. “The handbook further explains that student users shall not agree to meet with someone they meet online without parent approval and must promptly disclose to a teacher or other district employee any messages the user received that is inappropriate.” 

The athletic handbook also  included a few procedural additions which includes lettermen requirements for girls golf and a statement about Vo-Tech students missing the bus which counts as late to school causing them to be ineligible for practice, or competition that day.

In addition, Malone added, the handbook states if a student has a known injury with restrictions, they must inform the school.

The board heard a first reading of MSBA policy update 2021B.

The board  also revised MSBA policy GCPCA moving the application deadline for the teacher early retirement incentive from March 1 to January 5, 2022.

The board set the annual board picnic for Aug. 17, 2021.

Under old business, the board discussed the upcoming Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA) Fall Conference.