The Perry School Board met in regular session Monday.

At the meeting, the Board heard an update on the summer school program. Amy McCord says says the five-week program for children in kindergarten through fifth grade students had kids in the schools four days during the week.  Enrollment was up this year by 12 students compared to the year before, and around a dozen students from St. Patrick’s Elementary took part in the program. McCord says classes focused on reading and math skills, including 90 minutes of instruction on each topic with a recess in between.  She says this year, more than the past, she heard from parents that kids really enjoyed summer school.

Food Service Director Gail McFarlin then shared a summer food program update with the Board. She reported that it was another busy summer for the department and though numbers at the middle and high school were down slightly, the elementary school numbers were not effected.  McFarlin said an average of 41 students ate at the high school daily, while 144 breakfasts were served on average at the elementary school, along with 207 lunches.  In addition, Perry was one of a few school districts in the state that was awarded a grant to give books to students that participated in the food program.

Perry’s Academic and Cultural Enrichment Services Director Mary Hillman then addressed the Board with an update on her summer program.  She presented the Board with a folder full of information on what the students and staff did this summer.  She said summers are critical for students because parents don’t go on vacation from their jobs just because students are out of school.  Some of the highlights that were touched on included the drop in tuition cost, 120 students enrolled in the program and an average of 90 students there every day.  Because of grants, Hillman says the students were able to take part in a “top notch” program that included field trips, various themes and interactive activities.  Overall, Hillman said they got very good feedback from the places they visited, stating that the students were very well behaved.

Preschool program policy handbook revisions were then approved as presented. Associate Elementary Principal Joel Martin says the three attendance centers are at full capacity and the District currently has a waiting list for preschoolers.

A food service agreement between the District and the Perry Child Development Center was then approved.  The Center will pay the district $3 per enrolled child participant that is served lunch.

Board policy revisions in regards to development and enforcement of administrative regulations, monitoring and administrative regulations, the administrator code of ethics, succession of authority to the Superintendent and communication channels were then approved as presented.

A School Budget Review Committee allowable growth request for any special education deficit was also approved. Superintendent Lynn Ubben says this is something that is done every year in case the Department of Education or auditors make adjustments that would force a negative balance.

Hy-Vee was then approved as the vendor for the District’s fresh fruit and vegetable grant for the upcoming school year.

Personnel changes were also approved as presented.

Finally, a late open enrollment request was discussed.  The date to open enroll for an upcoming school year is the March before.  A local parent told the Board her young son was harassed last year and bullied throughout the year. She said it got to the point where her son did not want to go to school, which was unlike him.  She said she and her husband want to be able to protect their son by allowing him to switch schools.  The mother stated that the state has four criteria that deem a student eligible for open enrollment and her son fits all four of them.  The parents said they did not realize the scope of the bullying until after the March deadline.  Superintendent Lynn Ubben says she has been in contact with the mother and the building principals and suggested that the issue may resolve itself if the students are split up once they move into the middle school.  The Board was presented with a several documents to review.  They plan to review the information and take action at a future meeting.