SG R-II Connection

Good afternoon, SG R-II families,

As we wrap up our first few weeks of the new school year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what has already been an exciting and promising start. Over the past week, I’ve been approached with questions about transportation logistics, bus pick-up and drop-off times, progress at Ste. Genevieve Elementary and the Early Childhood Center, and even how the bridge traffic might affect our daily routines. While there have been some challenges, we want to thank you for helping to make this one of the smoothest starts to the school year in recent memory!

Please be sure to check out photos from our first few weeks of school below, and have a wonderful weekend.

Dr. Paul Taylor

Superintendent

• Bus Transfer: Ste. Genevieve County R-II School District and Valle Catholic Schools worked together to ensure that Valle Catholic Schools has two school buses for their transportation services starting this school year. SG R-II Director of Transportation Kennith Jones, Valle Catholic Schools High School Principal Craig Gibbs, and SG R-II Superintendent Dr. Paul Taylor met to discuss the transition of the vehicles and make the transfer of ownership official. Learn more here!

• Webpage: Check out our new Transportation Department webpage! It's full of important updates, helpful resources and informational FAQs for families. If you have any questions regarding your child’s route, please call the Transportation Department at 573-883-3232.

• Bus Safety Flyer: Check out our new school bus safety flyer, with info about student conduct, communications in an emergency, and more!

Early Childhood Center:

• The Early Childhood Center is under construction, with a floor plan of 10 classrooms, as well as a kitchen, multipurpose room, and more.
• Work continues on schedule for the Early Childhood building— masonry work is being completed on the Early Childhood Center. The classrooms are coming together with drywall.

Ste. Genevieve Elementary:

• The design of Ste. Genevieve Elementary’s new gym and on-grade, ADA-accessible entrance with offices can be seen here.
• A rendering of the exterior of the new addition can be seen here.
• During the first week of school, students and staff were getting into the groove of a different bus drop-off and pick-up process, and getting used to utilizing alternative entrances for Ste. Genevieve Elementary.
• Crews have begun building the block walls of the gymnasium. Soon, crews will begin to pour the concrete slabs for the elementary entry.

Ste. Genevieve Middle School:

• Following an initial inspection earlier this summer, it was determined that a mini split needed to be installed in the mechanical room for the elevator. The district is addressing this issue, and another inspection will follow.

Parking:

• The front lot parking projects that were launched to coincide with the Ste. Genevieve Elementary construction project are nearly complete. They include an addition of 34 spots, as well as a retaining wall between the front parking lot and the entrance near the Maintenance Department.
• With the start of school, there were concerns over a lack of parking spaces in the front lot due to construction; however, district and building administration were excited to share that during the first few weeks of school, plenty of spaces are open in the front lot, with a few dozen spaces open on a daily basis.

Other Projects:

• Along with the typical summer workload, our maintenance and summer crews undertook a renovation of the girls’ locker room, as the District identified some priorities that could be completed in-house outside of the scope of Prop SG. Crews power washed the walls and ceilings, gave the locker room a fresh coat of paint, replaced the lights with LED lights, swapped out old lockers for new, added mirrors and shelving to the walls, updated the plumbing for the showers, and more!
• This summer, crews installed the same type of fencing to Yanks South, and added gravel to the original site of the Red Barn to provide more options for parking.

Athletic Facility:

• Plans continue for determining a location for the wrestling / athletic facility. Geotechnical is working on borings in various areas to determine the final location.

Check out our flyer below explaining how SG R-II will communicate with families in case of a safety and security emergency. It is important that families have their contact information updated in the Powerschool Parent Portal in order to receive important updates from the district and your child’s school.

Tax Rate & August Meeting Updates:

• At the Aug. 27, 2024 Board of Education meeting, the Board approved setting the operating levy at $2.9155, the debt service level at $0.4400, and the capital projects levy at $0.0500 for a total levy of $3.4055 for the 2024-2025 school year. As promised, the debt service levy (the fund used for long-term debt payments) will remain at 0.4400 cents for the upcoming school year.
• The operating levy will be adjusted from $2.9650 in 2023-2024 to $2.9655 in 2024-2025. This is a difference of 0.0005 cents, which equates to approximately one-twentieth of a penny, for the overall 2024-2025 tax rate. This adjustment comes directly from the state auditor's calculations, which generates the tax rate. At the Tax Rate Hearing on Aug. 27, Dr. Taylor provided a presentation that included an overview of the district’s planning and projections for the 2024-2025 year, including preparing for uncertain tax revenues and additional expenses to cover litigation fees for the ongoing local tax protest.
• See the Board Briefs from the meeting here for more information. This unofficial document includes more context and details than our official Board Minutes. All Board documents are located on the “Board of Education” page of our district's website. As a reminder, all Board of Education regular meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Projection Room.

Summer of 2025 MSHSAA Dead Period for Activities:

• The Board of Education approved the MSHSAA Dead Period of Activities for the Summer of 2025 to be held Aug. 2 - 10, 2025.
• This date range meets the MSHSAA requirements to start on a Saturday and run for nine consecutive days.

• New Rates: We have updated our substitute teacher salary schedule! See the 2024-2025 rates here.
• Substitute Certification: To reach the substitute certification requirements, a candidate must either 1) enroll in a 20-hour online course, or 2) have 60 credit hours. Check out more information about the pathways to obtaining a substitute certification below!