Canton School Board Meets

The Canton R-V Board of Education met on April 18, 2023 in the Canton R-V Library Media Center Conference Room to hold the annual reorganization meeting of the Board of Education. The meeting was called to order by the current Board for the purpose of dissolving the current Board of Education, installing new members, and electing new officers. Jake Schaefer, Stacey Guilfoyle, and Larry Arnold were installed as new members for a term ending in April of 2026. The Board of Directors elected the following members as officers: Michelle Frazier – President, Susie Biggerstaff – Vice-President, Lacy Spurgeon – Secretary, and Larry Arnold – Treasurer. Immediately following the reorganization meeting, the Board adjourned and entered into the regular monthly business meeting.

 The Board discussed the following items in the consent agenda: meeting minutes, transfers, amendments, building principal reports, attendance, lunch, and safety reports. Following the consent agenda, the Board authorized the payment of the monthly bills.

 Superintendent Uhlmeyer presented the monthly financial report to the Board of Education. The balance in Funds 10-60 as of 03/31/2023 was $9,210,284.01. This was a $4,676,588.44 increase from the previous fiscal year.  The unrestricted fund balance in Fund 10 – Incidental was $3,065,124.25, which was an increase of $727,028.84 from the previous year.

 During reports, the Board received a report from Nurse Courtney Brennan regarding Health Services. Superintendent Uhlmeyer also provided the directors with an update regarding current legislative topics and the progress on the Early Learning Center (ELC). The Board of Directors will be presented with finalized schematic plans for the ELC building by Klingner and Associates at the May 2023 meeting. The directors were also provided with a summary of several grant applications that have been submitted to various state agencies.

In current business, the Board authorized entering into a contract with OPAA! to provide food service operations at Canton R-V for a 5-year period. The Board also approved leasing the HappyTime Preschool building and furnishings from Brenna Phillips and Sarah Taylor to expand preschool offerings to resident children for the 2023-2024 school year. This lease agreement will be in effect until the completion of the Early Learning Center. This action by the Board of Education directly correlates to Priority Area 2 of the Canton R-V Continuous School Improvement Plan which states that “the District will ensure all pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade students have access to high-quality learning experiences”.

 Superintendent Uhlmeyer asked for the Board’s approval for a recommendation to increase the base salary for certified faculty members from $34,250 to $37,000. This recommendation was approved by the Board and will increase the total certified salaries by $78,917 (+3.66%) and total salaries and benefits by $91,505 (+3.09%) when comparing Fiscal Year 2023 to Fiscal Year 2024. Because of this increase to the base salary, all administrators will receive a $2,625 salary increase. This equals a 2.63% increase in salary for Superintendent Uhlmeyer and an average salary increase of 3.51% for the building principals. Superintendent Uhlmeyer also recommended a 4.0% increase to all classified staff hourly wage rates. This recommendation for classified staff was approved by the Board of Directors. Finally, the Board approved a Memorandum of Understanding between Canton R-V School District and John Wood Community College to allow Canton R-V students to attend dual credit courses at the JWCC Workforce Development Center.

In the executive session, the Board discussed student welfare and personnel. The Board of Education approved the following: Resignations from Danielle Moffitt for teaching duties; Kailee Gaither for teaching and extracurricular duties; Leanne Hausdorf from teaching duties.

Hiring of Crystal Nelson as the PK-6th grade Art teacher; Kar’mel Brewer as the PK-6th grade Music teacher; Joni Fussellman as a pre-Kindergarten teacher; Morgan Melton as a 1st-grade teacher; Katelyn Kirchner as a 2nd-grade teacher; Rachel Uhlmeyer as a 4th-grade teacher; Katrina DeCoster as an ELA teacher in the High School; Darla Gaus as the Special Education Director.

Hiring of Julie Lubbert, Angie Hultz, Kara Ruffcorn, Katie Elder, Erin Allison, Heather Feldkamp, Carla Eagan, Jerrid Cosby, Kathy Burchett, Kerri Blessing, Heather Hinton, Jensen Crenshaw, Clint Smith, Beth Anderson, Melissa Feldkamp, Luanne Pearl, and Sarah Mueller as summer school teachers.

The Board was also advised that the following teachers will be transitioning to a different teaching assignment for the 2023-2024 school year: Heather Feldkamp will be moving to a 3rd-grade teacher. Anita Taylor will be moving to the 5th/6th-grade math teacher