The Crawford County R-1 Board of Education on Aug. 17 continued to discuss trading the district’s John Deere tractor for a side-by-side or put it up for bid after the trade-in value dropped.

The John Deere was valued at $15,500, and after the trade, the district would receive a $4,000 store credit. The day of the trade, Superintendent Brian Witt received a call that the trade-in value dropped to $13,500 for the tractor.

“My thoughts were, we got two options: we can go ahead and continue with them with the trade-in of the John Deere tractor for the $13,500, which will give us a store credit of $2,000, or we could not do that, and we could look to actually sell the John Deere tractor and equipment ourselves,” Witt said. “And my suggestion, if we decided to do that, we would put a reserve of $13,500 on that, and then we would just go buy the side-by-side afterwards.”

Board member Stephen Waldron suggested they just move forward with the trade because the process would be quicker and the board wouldn’t have to worry about advertising costs and bidding out the tractor.

A motion to trade the tractor at the lower trade-in value was approved with a 5-0 vote.

Dr. Sean Siebert presented an overview of his program for Bourbon Middle School, which will focus on behavioral health issues and helping reduce factors leading to substance abuse disorders.

Siebert said that he has been working with the district for about 13 years and has done various programs with the students.

He presented a book that he wrote, which had a QR code on the back. Scanning it takes individuals to a website that contains 1,000s of pages of content that focuses on grief resources.

“What we focus on is grief literacy. How do we better understand grief and its existence and how it impacts others, and if nothing else, so that we understand how to work with them better?” Siebert asked. “Crawford County has one of the highest levels of deaths of despair in the entire nation as a county, and so we…sit at the center of a lot of hopelessness.”

To help combat the hopelessness crisis, Siebert said that he has been meeting with Middle School Principal Nicole McPeters, and they have developed an anti-bullying curriculum.

Costs for the program’s licenses and materials are completely covered by an $8,771.25 grant received from the Crawford County Opioid Fund Disbursement Board.

Special Education Director Erin Mades added that Siebert’s program also has a tool to help with behavioral supports when kids are struggling.

“It can be used for (general education) kids too, so there’s just different strategies. We can type in exactly what we’re seeing, and it will give us suggestions and ideas, and help us write plans if we need those types of things instead of trying to do all of it and just trying to figure something out,” Mades said.

The board considered a no-cost partnership with Teachers of Tomorrow, which helps individuals obtain certification to become a teacher. When prospective teachers are searching for participating school districts, partnering with this program increases Bourbon’s visibility.

Witt said that Teachers of Tomorrow is one of the top programs that help with teacher certifications.

“As we go into the next several years of a possible teacher shortage, we have to provide the least resistant pathway and help for people who are wanting to come into the teaching profession,” Witt said.

A motion to accept the memorandum of understanding with Teachers of Tomorrow was approved with a 5-0 vote.

In other business, Witt announced that work on the elementary and middle school roofing bond projects has officially begun.

“The main area right now is the third and fourth grade wing,” Witt said.

He added that there are two broken exhaust fans above the third and fourth-grade wing that will be replaced.

Witt shared ideas for the development of the Warhawk Strong Legacy Plaza.

“We are exploring the development of the Warhawk Strong Legacy Plaza as a permanent place to recognize families, alumni, staff members, businesses and community partners who have helped shape our district. The plaza will provide an opportunity for people to leave a lasting connection while supporting future projects that benefit our students and schools,” Witt said.

He discussed future athletic improvements, including possible projects involving the baseball and softball dugouts, fencing, backstops and bleachers. The track also needs to be resurfaced and restriped.

No decisions have been made on either the plaza or athletic improvements.