CHAMOIS — Chamois Superintendent Lyle Best told board members on Wednesday, March 11, that another cracked section of cast iron has been found in the elementary boiler, and that classrooms are again being heated by only portable electric heaters.

Harold G. Butzer, Inc. is working on an estimate for the repair, but Best does not think there is a reason to replace the part until it can be determined why the same parts continue to break.

“This repair is costing us about $10,000 each time, and we’ve replaced two this year,” Best said. “We’ve got to figure out something different because at this rate, it’s just going to happen again.”

Best explained that he believes that the school board should postpone any decision until after the election. He is hoping that Proposition K.I.D.S. (Keep Improving District Schools) passes and the district can plan for a new option for the aging boiler system.

District residents will be able to vote for the bond issue on April 7. If the proposition passes, the school district will receive a general obligation bond of $1,750,000, with the funds to be used to replace the aging HVAC system. Approval would increase the debt service levy from $0 to $.065 per $100 of assessed valuation. The example on the district’s website shows that for a house with an appraised valuation of $100,000, the estimated annual cost would be $123.50. Funds are restricted from being used for salaries, benefits, or utilities.

The school district has more information posted on its website and Facebook page.

Best is concerned that two other issues on the April ballot could impact the school district.

“There is a senior citizen tax credit, an initiative that applies to senior citizens over 62 and gives them a tax credit for their principal residence from this point forward,” Best explained. “If the value goes up, they will not pay more than what they currently pay.”

Best noted that he understands that no one wants to put a financial burden on senior citizens.

“The way it is worded, the increase in the assessed valuation for the property will show that we are getting that money, but we won’t, and therefore our rates will be impacted,” Best explained.

There is another proposition that will be on the April ballot, which is the same type of tax credit for primary residences, but it would be for anyone of any age.

“I don’t know how this will all turn out,” Best said. “This is all new, and it’s poorly thought-out to begin with.”

Best noted that both bills would have an impact, although the one that affects most people would have the biggest impact.

He hopes there will be more information on both propositions as it gets closer to the election.

“I’m with everyone else on wanting less taxes,” Best said. “We need to help spread the word that there will be an impact on the school district.”

Best and school board members have no idea how these two additional issues would impact how voters feel about Proposition K.I.D.S.

The superintendent encouraged everyone to be educated about all the ballot measures and help to inform others of the facts and how they affect the school district.

In other business, board members approved a new salary schedule. Salaries for certified staff with a bachelor’s degree and between five and nine years of experience will receive $500 per year in addition to the $40,000 minimum yearly salary that is mandated by the state. In addition, certified staff with 10 years of experience will receive an additional $1,000 per year over the $40,000 minimum yearly salary. The cost to the district will only be $3,500 since it affects a limited number of staff members. The board also approved a 5% increase for all hourly employees. The impact on the school district will be an additional $20,000 per year.

In the past, the district has paid for extra duties with a percentage of the staff members’ annual salary. Moving forward, the amount paid for extra duties will not be attached to annual salaries, but will be a set number that can be increased independently of salaries.

Board members questioned whether the salary increase for certified staff was enough.

“I remember 15 years ago, when we couldn’t give salary increases because we couldn’t afford anything,” Board President Steve Cramer said. “A lot of businesses can’t give raises every year.”

Cramer also reminded colleagues that they voted last month to increase benefits for staff members.

• Board members approved a new attendance policy: Regulation #2310 will go into effect for the 2026/27 school year. Each student is allowed 10 absences, and the absences will be labeled verified, which is an absence justified by official documentation, such as a doctor’s note, a funeral, sent home by a school nurse, or absences that are approved by the administration. Absences that are labeled as unverified do not have any supporting documentation. Parents are asked to contact the office by 9 a.m. if their student is unable to attend for the day.

If a student has seven absences in any class, they will not receive credit for the day they are absent unless the absence is excused by a doctor’s note, a dentist’s note, a death in the immediate family, or the absence was approved by the administration. A note from the doctor or dentist must accompany the student’s return to the classroom. Students will receive a zero for all assignments or tests on the day they have an unverified absence. Anything that is assigned on that day can be completed for credit. If a student reaches 10 absences in a course in one semester, they can be denied credit for that class.

Students and parents may appeal to the attendance committee if there are extenuating circumstances. The attendance committee will include the school principal, two teachers, the student council president, and the vice president. Long-term illnesses and extenuating circumstances will be handled by the attendance committee, with exceptions approved by the school board.

Students absent from school on the day of an activity — or on the Friday before a Saturday activity — will not be allowed to participate without a written release from the principal.

School Principal Jeremey McKague made the case for the new attendance policy at the February meeting.

“We think by changing the attendance policy, we can encourage the kids to be here without unfairly punishing the students,” McKague said. “The new policy would put a little more pressure on the students because credit could be withheld, and it will make the office’s job much easier.”

• Board members approved a one-year renewal for the transportation contract with Backman Transportation, LLC, with an increase of $3,000 in the annual fee.

The rate for activity trips remains the same, with the charge for the bus costing $1.25 per mile, and the rate for a driver and an activity bus at $1.50 per mile and $12 per hour for the driver. Backman Transportation will charge an additional surcharge for fuel prices that are in place when fuel costs go over $3 per gallon. The transportation company will be able to charge the district the cost per gallon over $3, multiplied by the number of gallons of fuel used per month.

• The board approved the Gift of Life education program that informs students about the facts of organ donation. High school students will be allowed to watch a 30-minute video that presents the facts about organ donation so students can make informed decisions when they get their driver’s license.

Students can opt out of the 30-minute video if they or their parents do not want them to be exposed to the material.

• Administrators continue to work on developing a new grading and assessment policy that they feel will better reflect what the students know about the subject matter for classes.

“We want to align better with our curriculum and standards,” Best said. “We want our grading system to align with the standard and be able to measure our current learning in regard to the standard.”

The new regulation would remove some of the non-academic factors that currently make up student grades.

“Moving forward, we would like to make things more consistent, accurate in terms of learning objectives, more meaningful and focused on growing the standard instead of chasing points,” Best explained. “We want to make learning more purposeful and meaningful.”

Best believes that this will be a good tool for teachers, students, and parents.

“We want to eliminate anything within our grading practices that is not related to academics,” Best continued. “Participation or coming to class prepared is good, but that has nothing to do with your understanding of the material.”

Best and McKague hope that the new regulations could help point students and teachers in the right direction.

“Instead of students just increasing the number of points, they will need to increase their understanding of concepts so they can be more proficient in the subject matter,” Best said.

A student who receives an “A” would reflect that the student is very proficient and exceeding the standard they are studying.

A grade of “B” would reflect that the student is proficient in that skill.

The grade of “C” means that the student is either approaching or meeting part of the standards but needs some support.

Grades of “D” and “F” reflect that students cannot demonstrate the proposed skill without support, and there is little evidence that the students have an understanding of the subject matter.

“I think this provides a little more information associated with the grades,” Best said. “I think it leads to more information and promotes conversations with parents.”

Students will also receive an additional score that reflects their responsibility, work ethic, collaboration, and citizenship in the classroom. They will be scored on a number system, and that score will not affect the regular grade.

“While these are important skills, they aren’t related to academic success,” Best explained.

Best and McKague are still looking at how they can incorporate the number grade into the current report cards.

“We are trying to figure that out without getting too detailed,” Best said.

Best also said that students in grades 6-12 would have a weighted final worth 10% of the class grade.

“We are supposed to be doing that, and we need to get back to it,” Best said.

The new grading system will not affect dual-credit courses since that is set by the college teaching the class.

Cramer expressed concern that there have been times when an entire class bombed the final exam, and with this system, there is no way for the students to make up those points.

“We will have to have a system in place for those circumstances,” McKague said. “There has to be some flexibility.”

Best hopes to vote on the policy at the April meeting and have the new grading system in place for the 2026-27 school year.

• Best would like the school board to consider updating the district’s personal leave policy.

Currently, employees have 10 personal days throughout the year. At the end of the year, staff can roll the days over to the next year or be paid for the days at $25 per day.

Staff leaving the district will be paid $5 per day for the days that they have accrued, and retiring staff will receive $25 per day.

“This has been the amount forever,” Best said. “That is considerably lower than any other district. We are paying hardly anything for the days the teachers are not using. We are not giving them an incentive to come to work.”

Ideally, Best would like to encourage staff not to take the day off by paying more for the days that are not used.

“People who have been teaching here for 25 years are worth more than $25 per day,” Best said.

He proposed that employees who choose not to roll their days to the next year or who are leaving the district receive $75 per day, and staff who are retiring receive $150 per day.

The district allows staff to build up to 90 days of personal leave.

“That’s a lot of money when they retire,” Cramer said. “We are basically paying them twice for the same 90 days at the end of his career. When you take a day off work, their pay remains the same; they are not losing money.”

Cramer argued that businesses do not typically allow employees to build up that many days of personal leave.

“I’m the opposite; if you give someone 10 days per year, that’s part of their benefits, it’s part of their salary,” board member Nick Schollmeyer said.

“I think you are worried about paying out more money than you think,” said Board Treasurer Jennifer Keilholz. “Very few employees have 90 days built up. Most people are not banking days anymore.”

“It still seems like a lot of money,” Cramer said.

“For a teacher that’s retiring, I don’t see it as a big problem,” Schollmeyer said. “I can justify it because I’d rather have them teaching versus the students having a substitute teacher.”

“I’m just struggling with paying for 90 days when they leave,” Cramer said.

McKague explained that at the current rate of $25 per day, employees are taking home less than $15 per day after retirement, taxes, and other fees.

Cramer noted that he realized that the fee schedule was outdated, but thought the school might need to cap the total at less than the current 90 days.

“I think we need to reward people for being here,” Best said.

The board will revisit the policy next month.

• Best presented a software program named Rocket Alumni Solutions that has different programs for schools to display pictures, both old and new, on a touch screen that is accessible on the school district website.

“I think people would find a benefit to it,” Best said. “People in Montana could look at pictures from as far back as we would want to go. It would allow access for a lot of people.”

There are several different packages available and different charges, including a touch screen for the gym lobby, a computer to run the program, and charges for setup and scanning the school district’s information and pictures.

There would be an annual maintenance fee of $2,000.

“I think people would find value in looking back at the pictures,” Best said. “It is definitely not something we need, but it is pretty neat.”

Best hopes that individuals, alumni, or groups may want to donate money to cover the cost of the program. He will look into more details of the program and will report back in April.

• Board members approved outstanding bills totaling $54,855.10.

• Chamois R-1 had the following ending account balances: general ($3,066,549), special ($79,441), and capital projects ($839,000).

• The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 15, at 7 p.m.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Best told the board that he has not had any feedback regarding the district’s Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) that was submitted to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

“They have gone through some staff turnover, which has probably delayed their response a bit,” Best said. He hopes to hear something back next month.

• He also reported that the Missouri legislative session has been a big one and that several bills are moving through the chambers.

“There are cap increases on assessment, different things that will freeze property taxes, and other things that we talked about before,” Best said. “We will see what makes it through to the finish line.”

• Best noted that open enrollment is still under consideration and that the grading system for Missouri school districts will be implemented at some point.

• The superintendent said that there has been a lot of discussion regarding the budget, noting that the recommendations for funding by DESE are at odds with what is being proposed by the governor’s office.

“I think everyone understands that there will be less money than there has been,” Best said. “We are in a really good spot to not fret too much about it right now. It just kinda sucks what is going on at the state level right now.”

• Best noted that the school van that was in an accident is currently being repaired.

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

McKague reported that the dental clinic was at the school recently. The elementary knowledge bowl was scheduled for March 17.

• The district is hosting a Title 1 Math night on March 27.

“We are hoping to piggyback on the success of the literacy night,” McKague said. “They have a theme picked out, and we will be serving hot dogs.”

• On Saturday, March 21, the school participated in the district band competition.

• Juniors will take the ACT on March 25.

• McKague noted that activities are starting to pick up, with multiple career college days and contest dates scheduled for the next month.

• Attendance was reportedly holding steady with high school and junior high at 94.5% and Elementary at 95.2%.

• McKague noted that he had no concerns about discipline referrals at this time.

• Several students have registered for kindergarten.