Board hears student proposal on pursuing grants for band, update on CTE program

The Willow Springs school board heard a proposal from a student regarding grants for band instruments at its March board meeting on March 13.

Several weeks before the annual senior project night for students of the Willow Springs High School Class of 2023, a student from the Class of 2024 presented information to the board as groundwork for his senior project. Luke Mansfield, a junior and drum major for the Willow Springs High School band, said he’s received preapproval for his project so he can pursue grants to help the band program. He explained he wants to work on it early, as grant timelines can be lengthy. 

Specifically, Mansfield is pursuing three separate grants to help provide funds to buy instruments for students to use. “Band has been a big part of my life,” he said, adding he joined band in sixth grade. “I would love for other kids to experience that.”

A drawback for some students is the cost, he explained. “Instruments are really expensive,” he said. For example, his beginner’s student saxophone cost $1,795, he said. Some families may not be able to afford that expense, especially when a student may change instruments.

Mansfield would like to secure enough grant funding to purchase three or four each of basic band instruments including flutes, clarinets, saxophones, French horns, trombones, and baritones. 

“By us being able to provide instruments, hopefully more kids can be in band,” he said.

Mansfield has selected three grants to pursue, including one $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that requires a 50 percent match. 

“This is an outstanding senior project,” said board member Brent Colley. Other board members agreed and offered initial approval of the project. 

Superintendent Dr. Marty Spence indicated they could set aside $10,000 within the budget to be used as a match for the grant if it’s received. 

The board also heard an update on the district’s new career and technical education (CTE) program from director Josh Owens and Spence. 

Spence said the two recently met with Willow Springs City Administrator Beverly Hicks who asked if the school will have interest in the second of two buildings given to the city last year by the Missouri Department of Transportation. The city sold the south building of the former MoDOT District 9 headquarters campus to the school for $1. Spence said the city is exploring what it should do with the north building, as the building needs some extensive and expensive upgrades to its heating and air system, estimated at about $65,000. 

Spence said if the district were to acquire the other building, programs could be moved to make a more extensive CTE portion of campus, including shop, family and consumer sciences, and more. The ag department potentially could be moved into the MoDOT building to free up its current building for the shop program. These moves could make space on the main campus to help the district eliminate portable structures that currently house programs like special education. 

Owens and Spence expressed excitement about the possibility. “Obviously, we couldn’t build this sort of a facility for the cost of updating the HVAC,” said Spence. 

Owens also said it would be a good opportunity to remodel and upgrade facilities a bit at a time, instead of all at once during the summer months, as is typical with school facility upgrades.

“A lot of that could be done during the school year, which is really rare,” said Owens. “It is a phenomenally solid structure.”

“We’re very excited about the possibility,” added Spence.

Board member Matt Hobson indicated the district needs to use caution if moving forward with the project. “It will be a pretty expensive endeavor.”

Board member Debbie Bryan asked if the new carpentry class would be able to help with the remodeling, and Spence and Owens indicated that could be a possibility. “This would take some time,” said Owens.

Owens also updated the board on programs the district plans to offer this fall, including basic aviation (drone), carpentry, and criminal justice. 

Hobson asked if the district has made any progress to receive grant funding to help offset the costs of the CTE programs. 

“It’s a long process,” said Spence. “There’s nothing we can absolutely bank on yet…It’s a priority for our district to make this work, so we will keep looking for other funds.”

In other business:

• The board heard a presentation from special education director Marlenia Baker regarding plans for using RTI (Response to Instruction and Intervention) within the district. The purpose is to identify students who need additional help and provide those students with individualized support. “During core instruction, everyone should come together,” explained Baker. “Everyone who will become an independent adult should come together.” Baker and other presenters emphasized this would be a collaborative effort among staff.

• Chris Waggoner and Spence reviewed the Annual Performance Report (APR) with the board. After changes at the state level, the district’s baseline score was 84.9 percent. Spence said this will be used for comparison in years to come, adding that opportunities for improvement include the district’s math and science scores.

• Spence also updated the board on the ESSER III budget. ESSER funds are emergency relief funds from the COVID-19 pandemic. The district was allocated $3,429,489. Thus far, the district has set aside $685,898 to help remediate learning lost during the pandemic, along with a $1.7 million heating and air upgrade at the middle school; $157,350 for health and sanitation; and $350,000 for an athletic training facility to be built this year. With the remaining funds of $521,241, Spence said he believes the district will be able to add a kitchen at the Bears Den for the high school and to cover upgrades to the district’s CTE facilities. Those projects will be discussed in more detail at a later date, he said. ESSER funds must be spent by September 2024, said Spence.

• The board approved the annual list of contracts for employment for teaching staff. Those teachers and staff will be listed at a later date.