Randy Mitchell Some New Rules Were Discussed Monday At The Regular Meeting Of The Allen Board Of Education. One New Rule Was Enacted By The Ossaa (oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association). The Ossaa Indicates The New Rule

Some new rules were discussed Monday at the regular meeting of the Allen Board of Education.

One new rule was enacted by the OSSAA (Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association).

The OSSAA indicates the new rule is aimed at

Continued Page 4 “improve sportsmanship” at high school and middle school athletic events. The punishment is indicated in the name of the rule -- Suspension from Athletic Activities for Unsporting Behavior Rule.

In a social media post by Allen Schools, it indicates: Any “egregious” unsportsmanlike behavior by coaches, players, or fans two or more times in the same season / same sport will cause the suspension of the team and/or Individual from the rest of the season.

The OSSAA cited some the following examples of “egregious” unsportsmanlike behavior: - Fans constantly verbally attacking officials.

- Fans physically attacking officials.

- Fans attacking other fans at athletic events.

- Coaches physically attacking or verbally berating officials.

- Players getting into fights with other players while shaking hands at the end of contests.

- Student sections verbally chanting inappropriate or demeaning chants at individuals, teams, or officials.

Other new rules were also discussed at the meeting as part of the student elementary handbook, and JH/ HS handbook for fiscal year 2023, which was approved by the board.

One rule is, students who bring cell phones to school must turn in the phones to teachers at the beginning of class, then the phones will be returned at the end of each class.

Exceptions will be made for when a student needs a cell phone for medical reasons, such as checking blood sugar.

High School/Junior High Principal Steve Butcher said he has served at schools where students must turn in their phones at the beginning of the school day, then retrieve them at the end of the school day, but he thinks the planned way would be best.

“... they turn their phone in when they enter a classroom, and then, when they leave, they can get it back,” Butcher said. “If they need to call mom, they can do that in the hall between classes. They can text a friend or whatever they want to do. When they get to their next class, cross the threshold, they turn their phone in and it stays with the teacher until the period is over.”

Respect for Adults

Butcher indicated he doesn’t think it’s proper for students to disrespect teachers and other adults at the schools.

Some examples are when students roll their eyes at teachers, shrug their shoulders and make audible sighs.

“All that nonsense needs to go away,” he said. “I don’t know if you have a problem with that, but with junior high kids, you have to train them up before they get to high school.”

No Zero Policy

Butcher spoke about a “no zero policy” where students must complete schoolwork or face consequences. He said it should help grades go up.

“If you just turn in your work, you’ve got a shot,” Butcher said. “I’m going to talk to them about failure, and the fact that you can’t fail unless you quit. That’s when you’ve lost.”

Butcher indicated that the social component of school is very important to students, but that will be taken away if a student is placed into inschool suspension.

“And when they go to in-school, because they haven’t done their work, they don’t get to talk in there, they don’t get to have lunch with their friends -- we’re going to have lunch delivered to them,” Butcher said. “They’re in there. And they’re in there for an hour longer than a regular day. And if there is any music played at all, it will be classical music, they hate that. It’s been proven to help with studies, though.”

Saturday School

Butcher spoke about having “Saturday School,” which has two purposes.

“Sometimes a kid gets in trouble, and you don’t want to suspend him, you don’t want to put him in in-school, but you want to get his attention, you give him a Saturday School,” Butcher said. “And the other purpose is, we have a lot of kids with a lot of absences, and this gives them a vehicle to recover three days in the fall semester and three days in the spring semester so they can still get the credit.”

Administrative

Reports

Administrative reports were delivered by Butcher, Superintendent Jeff Hiatt and Elementary Principal Amy Mayhue.

Hiatt began and mentioned he applied for a Chickasaw COVID-19 grant and is hopeful that Allen Schools will receive the grant.

Hiatt said supplies for teachers have all been ordered, and some have arrived, some are on the way and some are delayed.

“Hopefully, we’ll have everything,” Hiatt said, “it will be pushing it right up until the first day of school with the teachers’ supplies getting in.”

Hiatt said a company out of North Texas called “Lily of the Desert” donated a pallet of hand sanitizer to Allen Schools.

“So, we have tons and tons of hand sanitizer stored up for our teachers and classrooms,” Hiatt said.

Amy Mayhue

Mayhue said the new flooring at the elementary school is complete.

“We love our new floors, we’re very excited,” Mayhue said. “The teachers are moving in, getting set up for the year and they’re very excited about the new carpet. They’re a little anxious sometimes thinking about little munchkins being on top of the new carpet, but we’re going to be doing our very best to keep it as clean as possible. I keep telling them that a (carpet) tile can be replaced, don’t stress about it. So, we love the carpet tiles for that very reason. It is great for us and we’re excited about it. So, we thank you all for approving that. We’re really looking forward to those new floors.”

Mayhue said teachers are prepping for the new year, and that the number of children enrolled is about equal to last year.

Steve Butcher

Butcher said he has invited Agriculture Teacher Johnathan Walden to the next board meeting.

“Because he has led the FFA program to new heights and he has done a remarkable job,” Butcher said. “I am going to ask him to come to the next meeting and talk to you all about how they reached such a high peak and how they plan to repeat it. His recognition was of a kind that is so high, you can only apply for it every other year. So, his program is in the top 10% in the nation.”

Hiatt said Walden will be honored at a national convention in November.

Consent Agenda

The board approved the consent agenda which included the fiscal year 2022-2023 Purchase Orders and Encumbrances: Fund

Continued Page 10 11 -- General Fund numbers 122 through 168 ($183,523.67); Fund 33 – 2017 Building Bond Fund number 1 ($279); Treasurer’s report; Activity Fund report; Travel requests: (Administrative attendance of the OSSBA/CCOSA Conference on August 26-28); Board Member travel, lodging, meals and incidental expenses associated with attendance of the OSSBA/CCOSA Conference (August 26-28); Surplus: Piano; Teaching assignments and class schedules for fiscal year 2023; Fundraisers fiscal year 2023—FCCLA, FFA; Agreement with Byng Public Schools— Alternative Education Agreement for fiscal year 2023.

Action Items

In action items, the board approved Monte Johnson as a high school adjunct teacher teaching “Math of Finance,” and Devan Bettencourt as junior high adjunct teacher teaching “Art” for fiscal year 2023.

Also on the agenda was a “vote to approve or not approve that Allen Public Schools will be taking the ACT as the locally selected, national recognized assessment for the College and Career Readiness Assessment (CCRA) for fiscal year 2023.” The board approved.

The board also approved the following OSSBA Policies: CLBCB “Armed School Employees”, DED-R7 “Association Officer Leave Certified Personnel”, DPD Adjunct Teacher Policy, FEF “Student Transfers for Children of Employees”, FFF “Student Safety ID Cards”, GKF “Disciplinary Action for Misuse of School Bathrooms and Changing Facilities”.

Hiatt said the CLBCB “Armed School Employees” isn’t a new policy.

“But if we’re going to allow an armed employee, we have to adopt that policy,” Hiatt said. “The other policies are all brand new laws that were passed in Legislation during the last session.

Also discussed was GKF “Disciplinary Action for Misuse of School Bathrooms and Changing Facilities.”

Hiatt said the federal government passed a law that said students can use whatever bathroom they choose, but the state of Oklahoma passed a law that Oklahoma students must use the bathroom of their biological sex.

In other words, biological boys must use the boys’ bathroom, and biological girls must use the girl’s restroom.

The board also approved the sanctioning outside booster clubs for fiscal year 2023, including Football Boosters, Basketball Boosters, Baseball Boosters, Cheer Boosters, Softball Boosters, FFA, and approve their yearly financial records reports.

Executive Session The board entered into executive session, and, upon returning, approved arming a school employee, and also approved extra duty assignments and pay.

The board approved revised support staff pay scales for: A ) . Paraprofessionals/ Teacher Assistants B). Secretaries C). Custodians D). Cafeteria Staff Also approved were contracts for employees: (coaches and employees on extended contracts).

1. Dylan Batunbacal 2. Shannon Butler 3. Jimmy Wilson 4. Chad Colbert 5. Matt McCreary 6. Ethan Sharp 7. Kaleb Burns 8. Greg Mills 9. Dottie Slabaugh 10. Michaela Richbourg 11. Kevin Slabaugh 12. Leslie Costner 13. Jonathan Walden 14. Robin Escarcega 15. Lacy Williamson