Crawford County R-1 Board of Education conducted a reorganization on April 16 and swore in reelected members Ryan Cole, Sean Kaysinger and Stephen Waldron.

Jason Gobin was elected as board president with a 6-0 vote, and Kaysinger was elected as vice president with a 5-0 vote.

Mary Struckhoff was elected as board treasurer with a 5-0 vote, and Danielle Waldron was reelected as board secretary with a 4-0 vote.

In other business, Elementary Principal Joseph Bozic was given the floor to discuss the Playground Improvement Project.

“I spoke with a lot of people. I spoke with (Special Education Director Erin Mades) on, kind of some of the things that we need for all of our kids to feel included and make sure it’s really inclusive,” Bozic said. “I talked to some of the teachers. We had a meeting with the teachers, and we identified some of the things that they really liked, and we even let the kids have a vote.”

Ben Brown, play and recreation consultant of Byrne & Jones Construction, was available to present and answer some questions.

“We designed intentionally, meaning we’re introducing play events that not only develop children physically, but also socially, emotionally and cognitively,” Brown said.

A motion to approve the application and certificate for payment option two for $597,850 with a five percent contingency allowance, and authorizing Superintendent Brian Witt to execute all necessary agreements, approving required deposits and taking all necessary actions to complete the project was approved with a 7-0 vote.

All items of the consent agenda were approved with a 7-0 vote, including approving the Warrior Therapy Contractors, Physical Therapist contract agreement and Career Ladder plan for the 2026-27 school year.

Scott Schroepfer, of Schroepfer Insurance, presented health insurance plans for district employees who qualify for them. 

With a 7-0 vote, the district’s insurance rates as well as the employer-paid contribution amount of $726.05 was approved. 

The board approved the audit services agreement with Catlett & Associates, LLC., for the 2026-28 fiscal years with a 7-0 vote.

Mades informed the board on the district’s Homeless, Migrant, English Language Learners and Title I Preschool programs.

“We have seen an increase this year, back up to 43 students who have been identified as homeless,” Mades said. “We have our English Language Learners. We have one high school student who will be graduating.”

Mades is trying to get a grant for the homeless to help provide resources for families.

They are looking at low numbers for the preschool, with only 27 currently signed up.

Witt covered the transportation report and said that all the buses passed the inspection process. There are four older buses that will remain in service until the new electric buses they bought are in.

Bozic mentioned that enrollment numbers were a little down during his elementary school report. 

“Preliminary numbers for MAP testing, they look pretty good, so I’m excited to see that,” Bozic said.

Almost all the elementary staff have completed the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) training, with the exception of one employee who is new to education.

Bourbon’s newly elected Mayor Sky Huddleston was in attendance at the meeting and brought up some issues with the board.

First, he wants to bring natural gas to Bourbon. He asked the board if they would be willing to send a letter to Spire Energy, allowing them to conduct a study to see if natural gas would benefit the school district.

“Sullivan has natural gas, Rolla has natural gas, Cuba has natural gas…,” Huddleston said. “The natural gas main line that runs from St. Louis into Rolla and into Springfield cuts right through Bourbon, so we can tap off onto it right there.”

The sidewalk in front of the bus maintenance shack has been damaged by the gravel.

“The gravel from the yard, from the lot, is spilling over onto the sidewalk, and when the buses run over it, it pits and eats away the sidewalk,” Huddleston said.

To help prevent it, he wants to tar or chip and seal it.

Gobin said they have a couple of paving projects coming up, so maybe they could get a good price to help mitigate the problem.

Huddleston brought up possibly using bypass filters on the diesel buses.

The board said they would talk to their transportation department.