Superintendent Scott Cline went over the school's finances with the Waynoka Board of Education this Monday as he does each month, but this month – like this whole year – had some unexpected elements.
In the general fund, expenditures were slightly down over last month, but are up on the year.
Revenue was down $105,000 over last year; $75,000 of that is due to a drop in gross production, but vehicle tax and interest are also down. “We knew gross production would be down this year,” Cline said.
“One of the big things this month is Woods County Excise Board; last year we paid that in October,” Superintendent Scott Cline said. “We have cut some costs and we'll get (the general fund balance) back down to where it needs to be.”
In the building fund, expenses are slightly down. “Revenue shows we are way down,” Cline said, “but keep in mind (…) $58,000 was from the sale of the house.”
The child nutrition fund was actually not in the red – a situation Cline said was “very rare,” adding, “we probably won't see this again, but let's enjoy it while we can. We have not lost money in our child nutrition fund. Of course, the main reason is everybody is free for a while. That's why our checkbook's balancing there. We get reimbursed by the state.”
The day care, though, was another matter. Day care expenses were $27,000 and revenue was just $10,000, “so we are losing quite a bit of money on day care,” Cline said.
On COVID-19, Cline said, “We've had two positives all year, and the county is back down to yellow. Hopefully we can keep cases low and continue this school year. It's a day-by-day situation; you never know what's going to happen. We just have to be on our toes.” He made a point to praise the cleaning staff. “Support staff is doing a good job keeping the school clean,” he said.
In response to a question from the board, Cline said that none of the students have tested positive and although the school is taking students' temperatures ever day, they have not had anyone show up with a fever so have not had to send a student home or discuss quarantining them. “It may start happening now,” Cline said. “We're getting to that flu season.”
Elementary School: 61 Students Earn AR Incentive Trip to Alabaster Caverns
Elementary school parent-teacher conferences were last week, reported Elementary Principal Patricia Burrows. In-person conferences were Tuesday evening and virtual conferences were Thursday. Burrows reported 100 percent participation in the conferences.
A firefighter visited the pre-K, kindergarten and day care to discus fire safety, Burrows said.
Teachers met Wednesday after school to discuss wrinkles in the virtual learning program. One issue, Burrow said, is that “sometimes students don't realize when they're out of school that they still have homework to turn in.”
The elementary had an AR incentive trip planned for the day after the school board meeting. More than 60 students have met their first reading goal, and will go as a group to Alabaster Caverns.
The elementary school plans to hold Halloween parties in classrooms, rather than all together. The Spook Parade will be held and will follow a route throughout the school and downtown. Some precautions will be implemented to protect everyone's health.
The sixth grade basketball team was scheduled to pay Buffalo on Monday evening.
And the word of the week, Burrows said, is honesty.
Junior High/High School: Activities Heat Up
The junior high/high school also held parent-teacher conferences last week, and they went well, said Principal Dustin Smith.
Smith agreed with Burrows that “we do struggle with getting packets back” on virtual learning days, but added “in the big scheme of things, it's going really well.”
The school hosted district ACTs on Oct. 6. Most of the school's juniors and seniors took it, but a makeup opportunity will be this Friday at 3 p.m.
The high school academic team has a meet at Timberlake, and then will host tryouts here.
Two basketball games last night finished out the junior high season, Smith said. The high school basketball team is undefeated so far this year, he said. “It's been a really good season so far.”
In FFA, the COLT conference was last week. Some FFA officers went to Enid for training, and students have enrolled in the Tulsa State Fair. A few judging contests are still ahead.
FCCLA will have a district meeting Oct. 21. Waynoka has hosted the meeting in the past, and it drew several hundred kids. “It's one of the most fun events that our kids go to,” he said, but it's virtual this year.
Senior night will be Thursday at 6:30. The cheer team will hold a clinic for elementary students at the game.
Other Business: Remediation Policy Adopted
In other business, the board approved hiring Amy Ferguson as part-time support staff.
They also approved a remediation policy for inclusion in the student handbook. Remediation, or re-teaching, happens when a teacher and student work together to help the student learn something that they may not have fully understood the first time. This could be help with a difficult homework assignment, or just something the student has questions about.
The policy says that students have several opportunities for remediation during the day. Students in grades 6-12 may choose to attend remediation between 8 and 8:20 each morning. After school, students in grades 6-8 may attend remediation from 3:20 to 3:40; those in grades 9-12 can attend remediation from 3:20 to 4 p.m.
Some classes have required remediation, although students with an 80% or above are exempt. Failure to attend required remediation makes a student ineligible for participating in any school activity.
The board also approved the the consent agenda, consisting of minutes from previous meetings, reports on the general, building, activity and bond funds, as well as their encumbrances and change orders; and the annual election resolution and call for an election.
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