North Platte will change class times next year at the elementary and intermediate schools.
The school calendar was approved and will have 171 student days and was set up with enough hours built for the elimination of makeup days when school is called off due to inclement weather.
To fall in line with new laws in the state, the start time for elementary and intermediate will begin at 8:10 a.m. and dismiss at 3:05 p.m. The class times for the high school and junior high will remain from 8:10 a.m. to 3:12 p.m.
The change will mean bus pickup will be five minutes earlier and drop off time will change in the opposite direction. The first day of school will be Aug. 20 and will dismiss for the year on May 15. The Thanksgiving break will be Nov. 27-29 and Christmas break will be from Dec. 21 to Jan. 5. Easter break will be April 10-13. North Platte will not have school on Martin Luther King Day and President’s Day.
In other school news, summer school was pushed back two days, starting May 30 to June 27. It was originally slated for May 28-June 25. Superintendent Karl Matt noted they didn’t want to push it back much further than the two days because of a chance of running into the 4th of July festivities.
CONTRACTS
Cornell Roofing from Independence won the bid to do a roof replacement at the junior high. The bid was for $110,815 and the final cost after purchasing material through Weatherproofing Technologies Inc. will be $152,447.67. Due to a co-op agreement, there will be no shipping or taxes on the materials.
Other sealed bids were from Delta ($200,632.67); Kaw ($185,267.67) and Kirberg ($310,782.67).
Charles Luebbert Hardwood Floors from Jefferson City had the low bid for sanding down and refinishing the junior high gym floor at $17,287. The work will be completed this summer.
A contract was extended for Opaa! Food Management for the next school year. This is the second extension renewal out of four that can be done without another bid process. Opaa!, based in Chesterfield, Mo., first reached an agreement with the school district in 2017. The cost for lunches will be $3.72 and breakfast will be $2.48.
The board approved a number of changes in salaries. There is an increase of $600 to the base salary schedule, taking it up to $34,000. The estimated cost is $45,000.
Also approved was vertical and horizontal movement on the certified employees for the next school year. The vertical steps will cost the district $28,000 and between $8,000 and $15,000 for horizontal steps.
The district will pay a four percent increase while paying half of the dental premiums from Ameritas. The district life insurance will still be through MEUHP. There was no increase in this renewal.
The district membership to the Missouri School Board Association was renewed for the fiscal year for $5,035.
NEWS AND NOTES
New website host School Messenger was approved. The company, which also does the website for West Platte, will have an app for parents to download.
A number of North Platte students that attend Hillyard placed at the SkillsUSA district competition. Chance Chesnut took second in precision machine and third in machining technology information; Chandler Tabor was first in information technology services; Savannah Lingle was third in the quiz bowl and Kasie Newton took third in technical drafting.
High schoolers McKenzie Brockhoff and Jordyn Smith attended the Northland Chamber of Commerce leadership team events.
Shelby Stapleton attended the Sophomore Pilgrimage to Jefferson City.
North Platte Junior High students Mark Humes and Marissa Wortham attended the state math contest last month. Olivia Rogers qualified for the state geography bee.
Chloe Heckman, a student at North Platte Intermediate, was the runner-up at the district spelling bee.
Winners for the math contest were: Camden Segar (third grade), Carson Adkins (fourth) and Galen Christiansen (fifth grade). The team winners were Graci Williams, Jared Williams and Myla Bailey.
The second graders went to the Pony Express Museum and Bode Ice Arena in St. Joseph last month.
High schoolers Christopher Ochoa and Reece Hinton received exemplary ratings at band districts and will go to state. The concert band received exemplary ratings at the state ensemble contest.
The concert choir got an outstanding rating at the state music festival last month.
The prom queen was Kelsey Reynolds and Chance Murphy was the prom king. Prom was held at Missouri Western in St. Joseph.
North Platte High School won its first district title in the academic scholar bowl last month in 21 years of competition. Thomas Beale, Jonas Pelot, Reece Hinton and Truman Byergo secured four of the six all-district spots.