Bourbon R-1 School District board members, on a 7-0 vote on Jan. 22, approved the E-Rate equipment and services quote from Provision Data Solutions for $33,225, authorizing the administration to execute the necessary documents to remain in compliance with all E-Rate requirements.

E-Rate is a program that can make things such as telecommunications and information services more affordable to eligible schools.

“...They work inside of our financials and things to give us what we need, and they presented this to us. So, just getting all the bang for our bucks, it’s possible,” said Superintendent Brian Witt.

In this case, the school is receiving discounts on its network security and firewall hardware with added unified threat protection, as well as modules.

Topics quickly shifted to approving the 2026-27 school calendar. There were three options—A through C.

Witt recommended option C. When in the process of creating the calendar, staff were asked to make a list of their top 10 priorities. After the survey, he met with them to go over the rules and regulations of building the calendar. Calendars were tweaked due to feedback and option C became the most favored.

Due to calendar-building rules, school can only start 14 days before the first Monday in September. 

“So we added 10 instructional minutes on C to (help get the staff what they wanted in the calendar), and that gave us about three, about three-and-a-half extra days to play with on that,” Witt said.

This current school year, 10 minutes had already been added to the teachers’ start time, but they did not adjust the start of instructional time.

“And we started looking at it that the start time actually could have been moved up five minutes, and we still have 20 minutes from when the doors open before the start of instructional time,” Witt said. “And then, so we’re going to add five minutes at the end of the day to students.”

Calendar option C was approved with a 7-0 vote.

Next vote was to approve the Missouri School Boards’ Association (MSBA) Policy Update 25E.

“I think a lot of the policy updates had to be made because of the legislation that was passed in the previous year,” Witt said, about the policy approved unanimously.

Witt then gave the Superintendent update.

“In special services, Parents as Teachers has enrolled two more new families…Bourbon Elementary has begun preparing for the May Day. They have set dates for Kindergarten Roundup, Pre-K and kindergarten screenings, donuts for grown-ups, kindergarten graduation,” Witt said.

Student Representative Kaitlyn King ended the meeting with the Student Report to the board. For the elementary school, “Teachers have worked hard analyzing data, updating Reading Success Plans, and preparing for upcoming events,” King said. “Students are enjoying fun lessons that teachers are creating to increase engagement and academic success.”

At the middle school, “...wrapped up the school year with a fun-filled assembly full of laughter. Students are using guided notes to stay engaged while focusing on key topics.” King said. “(Bourbon High School) teachers completed mid-year benchmark assignments to see growth from the beginning of the year.”