The Columbia School Board met for its first meeting of the year last Thursday, and though there was little on the agenda, the sole action item wound up dominating much of the conversation.

Following opening reports, the board brought its attention to Policy 7:60, one of several items included in the latest round of Press Plus policy adjustments and additions the board regularly adopts throughout the year.

This particular policy concerns whether or not staff and faculty in the district should be allowed to enroll their children in the district even if they live outside of Columbia.

The board had previously focused on this policy at the December meeting, expressing a desire to vote on it after Columbia Superintendent of Schools Chris Grode conducted a survey among district employees.

Grode began discussion on the policy, noting that responses were mixed. Though a majority were in support of opening enrollment, there also seemed to be strong opposition.

Following the meeting, Grode noted that much of the support for the policy argued that allowing enrollment for children of employees living outside the district would assist with recruitment and retention, adding that some long-time faculty have recently left the district to work in the same district their child attends school.

Grode further pointed out that a downside to the policy can be found in the financials, as the state mandates tuition costs by calculating the operating expenses of a district and dividing by the number of students.

This would put the hypothetical tuition cost per pupil for Columbia at $9,800.

Within the meeting, Grode made some general notes about the responses he received, specifically in regard to those who said they would consider personally taking advantage of the policy change.

“We got about 29 that indicated that they would,” Grode said. “I know personally that some of the people that said yes, they would, have no children. Some of them aren’t even married yet. But they live outside the district, and they do plan to have kids at some point in time. So they said, ‘Yeah, I would totally bring my kid here.’”

Discussion proceeded for about 20 minutes, with every member of the board sharing their thoughts. Most expressed a sort of ambivalence, generally in support of the change and the recruitment benefits it could have but still concerned about any negative consequences.

School board president Greg Meyer and vice president Lisa Schumacher expressed a desire to consult the Columbia community beyond just district employees, with Meyer recommending the board approve the round of policy changes, keeping the current enrollment policy which doesn’t allow for outside enrollment and addressing the specific policy again following another survey.

Meyer also voiced his concerns – as well as the thoughts of two teachers he had spoken with – that the policy change wouldn’t be equitable, as it would provide a new benefit for some but not all district employees.

Naureen Frierdich noted her concerns but generally spoke in favor of the policy change, emphasizing the potential impact opening enrollment could have.

“What if there is a fantastically qualified teacher that we would be super blessed to have but can’t live in the community, might want to but due to a spouse having a job somewhere else or whatever the situation might be can’t do it but would love to have the opportunity to be here, and it would help them to also be able to bring their kids here,” Frierdich said. “I definitely see both sides. I don’t want to veer people out of our community either.”

Ultimately, the board made a motion and approved the policy, 6-1, with  Schumacher voting against and Frierdich, Meyer, Tyson Search, Adam Hemken, Andrea Khoury and Kelly Meurer voting in favor.

Grode offered comment on the policy following the meeting.

“Schools are local communities, and I think it is good that our board sees our employees as members of that community, allowing their students to register here,” Grode said.

Discussion toward the end of the meeting centered around ongoing planning for the Columbia High School renovations.

One of the larger points made by Hemken is that these plans are chiefly focused on the building and its footprint, with various features – particularly all the equipment for a new auditorium – to come later.

The top of the meeting saw now-resigned seventh grade girls basketball coach Amber Haven speak to the board, noting her brief tenure and recent resignation were due to personal reasons, and she’d be happy to return to the district in the future.

Columbia Assistant Superintendent of Schools Alyssa Smith offered the monthly building report for this meeting on top of her usual collection of shout-outs for district staff and faculty.

Smith also spoke about work that’s being done as administration looks into various data, connects their findings to the core curriculum and then reconsiders how assessments are done.

“This is kind of a cycle that we’ve already started,” Smith said. “We’ve done bits and pieces, but now we’re putting it all together and formulating it and really making it that inquiry-based circle of knowledge as we go through with what we’re doing and then inserting the professional development as needed to support those areas.”

In his superintendent report, Grode began by speaking about the winter weather that hit the community early last week, noting how the district stayed open that Tuesday after Martin Luther King Jr. Day and saw about 10 percent absence.

“We had a really good attendance day,” Grode said. “We’ve had cold and flu seasons that were worse than that. I did receive a few emails and one phone call regarding the decision to be in session. None of them were favorable. I know that there were people that agreed with me. I did read the Facebook posts and some of the arguments back and forth. If we would have been out, I would have gotten similar emails and phone calls… I do want to say that parents always have the right to keep their students at home.”

He further noted that, while e-learning days might sound appealing, no one enjoyed school during the height of COVID-19 pandemic quarantine.

Grode similarly spoke against late starts, saying that a binary in-session or full closure seems to be best when it comes to bussing and other logistical matters.

He also noted he has spent the past few months growing his hair out for the sake of having it all shaved for the annual St. Baldrick’s event at Ace’s Wild in support of childhood cancer research.

“This, in my mind, epitomizes Columbia,” Grode said. “It’s just the community coming together to do things like this. It’s a wonderful experience.”