Safety and softball were two of the main topics of the most recent West Plains R-7 School Board meeting, held Feb. 27.
Board members voted during that meeting to move forward with a construction project to enclose an area between the high school's main building and east wing in order to reduce the number of entry points to the building, and to add turf and make other improvements to the baseball field.
Superintendent Dr. Wes Davis talked about the results of a survey presented to district parents and faculty, and the decision has been made to move a day off for students to April 8 from April 15, in light of the total solar eclipse taking place on April 8 and the high number of visitors expected to the area.
A teacher inservice day will take place on April 8 instead, and classes will be in session on April 15.
The construction project details were presented by Veregy, a company the district has done business with in the past for capital improvements.
Davis said he had been pushing the funding for both that project and the ball field project, and reminded board members the matters had been at the top of his wish list. The addition of turf to the baseball field would allow softball games to also be played on it, and eliminate the need for the softball team to use fields near the campus but currently owned by the city, he said.
"There's two big things I think we need to talk about when we discuss this. Everybody knows we own a baseball field that our boys play on. We play on a girls' softball field that's the city's. Right there, that's a big flag. I think we all know that's not equal among baseball and softball with our kids," Davis commented, referring to Department of Education Title IX regulations that call for equality in schools that receive federal funding between boys and girls sports, among other issues related to sex discrimination.
He went on to say he also wanted to bring the field up to the standards of other high schools in their sports conference so West Plains players can have the same quality in facilities.
The bid for the baseball field turf came in at about $1.36 million and will be installed by ATG Sports Industries of Festus. The cost will include fencing, movable bases to switch between baseball and softball, a press box, concession stands and restrooms. Davis added there could be a possibility of renting the facility out, and he is looking into having construction students do some of the work.
The construction at the high school has been discussed for some time. It will enclose a small open area to reduce points of entry and connect three separate buildings including the library, central office and music rooms, as well as add a classroom.
The project will cost an estimated $1.76 million and begin in May with the goal of finishing by August ahead of the new school year. The funds are in place for the improvement without the need to pass a bond issue.
Davis, in discussing campus safety, also talked about future plans to ask the city to vacate an alley between the Agriculture Building and the district Transportation Office. The intention, he said, would be to keep pedestrians from using it as a shortcut, noting foot traffic related to nearby apartments, and an incident in which people set off fireworks in that area at a time when the district was already on alert due to investigations into possible threats to students.If the city were to vacate the alley to the district, Davis explained, the district would allow access to city workers as needed for maintenance and other issues.
Another project mentioned by Davis was connecting the middle school and high school campuses with a fence, again improving security by impeding entry to school grounds from the street.
The addition of a high school student representative to the board for next school is underway, and Davis has interviewed about seven students. He will choose three finalists from those applicants, and the board will choose the representative from those applicants.
The next meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. March 19 at the high school library.
