Sedalia 200 Board Approves Van Purchase Request

The Sedalia 200 Board of Education met in regular session Monday night at Heber Hunt Elementary where they approved a purchase request for a new van and discussed a possible online payment system for lunch accounts.

Assistant Superintendent Todd Fraley had requested an 8 - 10 passenger van for district use. The board gave approval for a van purchase not to exceed $40,000.

Board member Scott Gardner suggested possibly looking at a Pacifica Hybrid van, citing lower fuel cost. Gardner noted that he would like to see the district begin using electric vehicles. The van could be used for a variety of travel options, including taking smaller sports teams to events. With the approval of the purchase request, the district can now start taking bids. However, an actual van has not yet been purchased.

The board also gave approval to the Blackboard ALLY Agreement, which would provide software to keep district websites ADA compliant. It was noted that this step is not currently mandated, however, according to Fraley, the ALLY software is "cutting edge" and is considered a proactive step for the district to be in compliance with ADA standards.

Also discussed at the board meeting was possible future use of a RevTrack online payment system, which could be used for items such as student lunch accounts. Fraley stated it would be a "convenience service," so parents wouldn't have to mail a check to the district to pay for student lunch accounts, however the mail option would still be open for those who wished to use it.

Sedalia 200 Superintendent Steve Triplett indicated that district parents have suggested an online payment option for awhile. The matter was only up for discussion and no official decision was made at Monday's meeting.y

A new student representative for this year was recently added to the board to act as a liaison between the student body and the board of education. The new rep is Smith-Cotton High School sophomore Kali Butts. Triplett said that Kali is very involved in S-C activities and the board is excited to have her serve as student representative. The student position does not have voting power on the board.

Towards the close of the meeting, the district thanked several area businesses for recent donations. Dugan's Paint donated $100 worth of carpet squares for 1st graders to use. Sherwin-Williams donated paint for use in the senior project, which included students painting nearly 18 parking spots at Smith-Cotton High School.

The board also expressed appreciation to booster organization TIMPO for donating a 16-foot concession trailer to the district. And Specialty Sportsware donated 200 black and gold t-shirts for use in the student section at football games.

In other action, the Sedalia School District Foundation said Homecoming will take place October 5, when the S-C Tigers will take on the Rock Bridge Bruins. Kick-off will be at 7:00 p.m. The Homecoming Parade will take place in Downtown Sedalia beginning at 3:00 p.m.

The next board meeting will occur October 22 at Smith-Cotton High School.