The Columbia School Board closed out the academic year with a relatively brief meeting, dealing with a handful of procedural action items while looking back fondly on the school year.

Regarding action items, the board approved the Illinois State FFA Convention Trip set to take place June 11-13. It was noted that, though students had participated in the trip previously, the event had not received attention by the board until this year and will, going forward, be an annual item on the agenda.

A public hearing was set for the amendment of the 2023-24 school budget, with the board and any interested members of the public set to discuss the budget June 20 at 7 p.m., just before the next regular monthly meeting.

A number of items pertaining to the board’s membership with the Mississippi Valley Insurance Cooperative were approved, including extensions of terms for the MissVIC employee benefits and property casualty pools. Columbia Superintendent of Schools Chris Grode was also reappointed as the MissVIC employee benefits and property casualty pool board member.

Also addressed was the second reading of stipend job descriptions in the district, with descriptions for several positions receiving some rewording.

The board ultimately moved to table this item after board member Adam Hemken questioned the “essential functions” qualification which was the same for all positions, with him and other board members voicing their desire to understand why the inclusion of this qualification concerning physical function was recommended by the district’s legal team.

Hemken said he recognized that, for example, a band director would need to be able to do upper body movements, but questioned why lower body function would also be a required qualification for the position.

The final item approved by the board was the second reading of board policies Press Issue 114, a collection of policy changes and recommendations provided to the board as a service from the Illinois School Board Association, which regularly drafts school district policy based on Illinois law and shares these recommended changes with districts in the state.

The meeting’s administrative report came from Parkview Elementary Principal Robert Dugan, who spoke about a variety of events which closed out the school year, as well as fourth grade teachers Donna Myers and Lynn Webb, who discussed their students’ wax museum project.

The report also featured two students who shared their wax museum presentations, introducing themselves as historical figures and sharing their biographies.

In her report, Columbia Assistant Superintendent of Schools Alyssa Smith offered numerous shoutouts, highlighting district employees who joined earlier in the school year.

“They came in, jumped right into the district, really acclimated themselves and have all made big contributions and help to the district,” Smith said. “For it to only be nine months later and they don’t feel like the new teachers is exciting.”

Smith also offered an update on the book project discussed at another recent meeting, with several eighth grade students speaking about the books they’ve spent the semester making for their third grade buddies.

Smith mentioned how she and Grode had the opportunity to see these students interact together with their books.

“I don’t know who had bigger smiles, those eighth graders or those third graders,” Smith said. “They were so excited about it. Everything that those students shared with you when they were here at the last board meeting… To watch that happening in-person rather than just hearing about it was like, ‘OK, this is now the best day ever.’”

Smith further discussed the recently-received preliminary Illinois Assessment of Readiness scores for grades 3-8, with particularly strong performance in sixth grade math and eighth grade English language arts.

She also shared how eighth grade teachers in the district had encouraged their students by promising that they would be allowed to dump ice water on them should 80 percent of the class meet or exceed state standards.

As the class managed to reach 81 percent, Smith shared the video of the teachers getting soaked.

“This also shows how much our teachers work to motivate our kids as well, and that’s one of those things that you can’t train people to do, it’s just inherent,” Smith said. “I think there was a lot of motivation that happened around the district, this is just one example, but that’s because we have some of the best teachers around.”

In his report, Grode first addressed the harsh weather the county has seen in the last few weeks, noting each school responded well to the storms.

“Every building handled it so wonderfully,” Grode said. “It’s always good to know that when emergency strikes, people jump to what they need to do.”

He also addressed various issues the district has encountered with the online payment system RevTrak. While many reported difficulties or mistakes concerning withdrawals, payments and strange fees, Grode said the system had since been sorted out with refunds and checks sent as needed.

He also mentioned the district’s online payroll system which was recently made live, allowing for online time cards and vacation requests.

Grode also echoed Smith’s sentiments about the eighth grade book project.

“It is the end of the year, and it has been crazy,” Grode said. “You have all the severe weather, your payroll’s not working, RevTrak’s going, but you do get those moments where you get to go down a hallway and watch a bunch of eighth graders with third graders reading to each other, and it’s a wonderful juxtaposition.”

As a later discussion item, the board touched on the facility study at Columbia High School.

Grode said the parking lot nearby in Bolm-Schuhkraft Memorial Park should be open soon, and board president Greg Meyer expressed his thanks to city officials and staff for their support on the project.

It was also noted among the board that preparations for the long-discussed high school renovations and remodeling are set to begin this week as the year ends.

“As soon as these students leave, we will start the site improvements, and you’re gonna start seeing some changes at the high school,” Grode said.

Also pertaining to the facility study, the board met briefly Sunday afternoon just before the CHS graduation ceremony to approve a material testing proposal for the expansion project.