With the end of summer vacation fast approaching, the Columbia School Board met recently to take care of a number of small items to prep for the new academic session as well as more long-term projects like an addition to the Columbia High School parking lot.

The CHS parking lot was the first action item discussed, with the board approving an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Columbia for a previously discussed parking lot expansion into nearby Bolm-Schuhkraft Memorial City Park.

The lot would provide new parking spaces to compensate for those lost in the future high school building expansion, with spaces reserved for students during school hours.

The Columbia City Council discussed and approved the agreement earlier in the week.

Maintenance on the lot is expected to be handled by the city which will bill the school district as appropriate.

The school board also voted on a resolution to declare its intention to issue $11 million in working cash fund bonds.

At a previous meeting, the board saw a presentation from a Stifel representative explaining the current bond status including how it should be able to sell bonds without negatively affecting the tax rate.

Columbia Superintendent of Schools Chris Grode explained that this was simply the first step to allow the district to move forward with its bonds.

“Really what we’re doing is we’re getting this piece of the puzzle, this step out of the way so that when we do get down to actually selling the bonds, we can do that in a timely manner, because there’s going to be a lot of coordination as we get the bonds sold, then getting the investments to make sure that the interest gets used and capitalized on,” Grode said.

Another action item approved by the board was the safety hazard/school safety busing area, which was effectively kept the same from last year.

Grode explained the district needs to declare particular safety hazards in order to bus nearby students.

“To transport someone across Main Street, we would say that we don’t want children walking to Eagleview across Main Street, so if they live on the other side of Main Street and less than a mile away from Eagleview, we would still be able to transport them with this safety hazard,” Grode said. “Parkview, you’ve got the same issue with Main Street and Veterans. We don’t want people crossing those roads, high school, middle school. It’s Route 3. We know we live in a kind of congested area.”

A myriad of bids for the 2023-24 school year, including the district’s milk, bread and fuel suppliers, were also approved by the board.

The board also approved the hiring of ancillary staff for the coming school year, giving Grode the authority to hire staff to be approved at the August meeting board.

The second reading of this year’s board policies was also approved, with adjustments from the previous reading largely consisting of legal updates and names.

Grode also made note of one specific item among the policies concerning an insufficient funds check.

“Basically what it allows is for us to get with an intergovernmental agreement that if we do these certain steps, anybody that gets state aid, if they owe us money, we could garnish their state aid,” Grode said. “My recommendation is that we don’t do that. Currently, I don’t really see the need of it.”

The board also briefly discussed the ongoing facility study for the future CHS expansion.

 It was noted that interviews with construction management teams had been scheduled, and the project is generally seeing steady progress.

Columbia School Board President Greg Meyer said the architect for this project expressed that the district is substantially ahead of other schools when it comes to a project of this nature.

Earlier in the meeting, the board approved several resignations and hirings, with Grode noting his hopes to have the district fully staffed by the next board meeting.

In his superintendent’s report, Grode spoke about the storm that took place June 30, saying the district had fared far better than others in Columbia.

Schools, he noted, had gotten rid of about $20,000 worth of food that spoiled due to a power outage that lasted multiple days.

Grode also noted that roofs in the district were still being assessed.

In his report, Grode also mentioned a new security measure being added to district schools.

The new security system will scan ID cards or licenses and run a brief background check on visitors, then print out a sticker to go along with their badge or name tag.

He also mentioned the addition of windows at the elementary and middle schools, stressing the need for security in the district.

“School security is important, and there’s some people that think that this is turning it into a jail,” Grode said. “That’s not the case. It’s a bank. Your most prized possessions, your safety deposit box. You’re more than welcome to come in. We’d love to have people in our buildings. We’re still warm and welcoming, but there’s gonna be some checks and balances because no one just walks in and looks inside your safety deposit box.”