WESTPHALIA — At their Oct. 15 meeting, Fatima board members voted to pay teachers who are retiring or otherwise leaving Fatima for 20 additional days of unused personal time. The previous policy stipulated that the district would buy back any unused days over 120 on an annual basis, allowing teachers to carry a maximum of 120 days to the following year. When a teacher retired or left the district, 100 of those days were paid out at a rate of $60 per day for days 1-25 and $75 per day for days 26-100. Teachers were not compensated for days 101 through 120 if they carried a balance that high. The board voted to buy back days 101-120 at a rate of $90 per day as an incentive to keep teachers in the classroom instead of having them burn personal time at the end of their last year. “It’s still less than we would pay a sub, and we’re keeping a good teacher here,” said Board President Suzanne Massman.

In other business, several parents addressed the board about the possibility of allowing dual sports. The board agreed to table the discussion pending further research.

• High School/Middle School Principal Matt Verslues asked the board to consider adding a policy for the use of artificial intelligence to ensure students are writing their own papers. “I feel this already lands in our handbook under academic dishonesty,” Verslues said. “Maybe putting a little wording in there would be beneficial, just for clarity.”

Board members agreed that was necessary and decided to table the discussion to give members time to consider the parameters.

• The board approved the hiring of a new assistant boys soccer coach and a new junior high basketball coach, and the resignation of a part time cook, as well as an amended list of substitutes.

• Bus routes and snow routes were approved, with only minor changes to snow routes.

• The board approved new school board policies and procedures provided by the Missouri School Boards’ Association.

• Superintendent Chuck Woody believes the initial bid of almost $400,000 for the new playground was excessive. He is going to look at ways to decrease that cost.

• Woody said the high school addition is still scheduled to be completed on time.

• Students of the quarter were Lincoln Vernon, Zachary Allen, Faith Peters, and Lily Gregory.

• Elementary School Principal Renee Ellingsworth-Albert reported that elementary enrollment is down to 229 students, as three students have moved since the last meeting. Elementary attendance was 96.62%.

• The PTO’s Trunk or Treat event will be held at the elementary school beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 25. On Halloween, K-2 students will have a parade around school to trick or treat. Classrooms will also be having Halloween parties.

• SPED Director/Curriculum Coordinator Janah Massman reported 95 active IEPs (including two new qualifications) and 31 504s (including two new qualifications).

• The Westphalia Lions Club offered to host the ACT again this year, if necessary, due to construction. That decision will be made at a later date. Students are currently working on Evaluate testing, which will allow them and educators to compare current scores with those from August. Massman reminded the board that they’re looking for growth, with standards set to see students become proficient by the end of the year.

• Parents as Teachers will be participating in Trunk or Treat.

• “Building with Dad” night, which Massman said is always a big hit, will be held on Nov. 14 from 6-7 p.m., and a Christmas event is scheduled for the evening of Dec. 6.

• High School/Middle School Principal Matt Verslues expressed excitement that high school attendance, at 96.7%, was better than elementary. (This is an ongoing friendly competition in which elementary is usually ahead.) The high school currently has 453 students in grades 7-12.

• Forty-nine juniors and seniors attended Show Me State Tech, and 21 were scheduled to participate in Build My Future at the Jefferson City Fairgrounds. “It’s extraordinary,” said Verslues. “It’s a great chance for kids to kind of see what they want to do after high school. I took kids in a Suburban last year. It was only about six of them. So going from six to 21 is really exciting.”

• A guest speaker will discuss his experience with distracted driving with high school students on Oct. 24.

• FFA members will be attending their national convention in Indianapolis this week.

• Barnwarming, put on by FFA and FCCLA, was a success, with games and a chili cook-off. “I may have gone back for seconds, and I may have put some on my shirt,” Verslues joked.

• A Veterans Day assembly will be held on Nov. 11.

• FCCLA members recently attended their fall leadership conference and reportedly had an amazing time. Anna Rakestraw received first place in Lesson Plan Development & Modification. “Let’s keep an eye on her when she graduates,” said Verslues.

Rakestraw is also October’s Osage County Anti-Drug Community Action Team (OC-ADCAT) Student of the Month. A story about her will appear in next week’s issue of the UD.

• Assistant Principal Mike Thompson said Booster Club pizza sales are going on now through Oct. 30. “They won’t last very long,” he said. “$13 per pizza. Go get your pizza.”

President Suzanne Massman asked why they hadn’t gone through a local pizza company that offers pizza sales. Thompson said they tried but did not receive a response from the company. “I know they talked about it. I know they tried it. It just didn’t work out,” Thompson said.

He added that the district is beginning to livestream sports on fan.hudl.com. “It is really cool,” Thompson said. “If you get on there, you get a good view. We haven’t pushed it much because we’re kind of getting a lot of (bugs) out. But anything that’s in our gym will be available to be livestreamed throughout basketball, and our people will not have to pay for it unless we decide we want them to pay for it.”

Thompson explained that the district will not be able to live-stream games that are streamed by others for cost, like district championship games, but that the service would be available to all programs, including band, cheer, and dance. Soccer coaches take a camera with them to live-stream their games. “When we get to graduation, we’ll redirect (the camera) to the stage, and they’ll be able to livestream graduation as well,” Thompson said. “And when the new gym’s done, they’re going to put another camera in the other gym.”

• The next board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 20.