VIENNA — Maries R-1 administrators shared monthly reports with the board of education at the board’s most recent meeting on April 15.

Superintendent Teresa Messersmith opened saying the district had 27 teachers participate in the Career Ladder program this year. Career Ladder is a voluntary performance pay matching program run by the state. The program provides three stages of compensation for extra hours that teachers work. The state pays for 60 percent of the compensation and the school district pays the rest.

Two teachers in the district completed stage one. They logged at least 50 hours of eligible work to earn $1,500. Five teachers in the district completed stage two. They logged at least 75 hours of extra work to earn $3,000. Twenty teachers in the district completed stage three. They completed 100 hours of career ladder work to receive $5,000.

Teachers who participated in Career Ladder will receive their payments in June. The district’s part of the payments totals about $75,000.

Teacher Appreciation Week began earlier this week. The board provided breakfast for teachers on Monday and the administration will provide lunch on Thursday.

The eighth-grade graduation ceremony will be on May 13.

None of the state payments to the district had arrived because the meeting was held earlier than usual. The only bill that had come through was the electricity at about $4,100.

The district had a couple of unexpected expenses. One of them was a $6,890 bill to Wilber’s Plumbing. The company fixed a drainage issue that caused the district to use an alternative method of instruction day last month. Another bill was from Stricklan Concrete for a retaining wall built last summer that cost the district $7,250.

Delinquent tax payments brought the district $28,438.80 in the past month.

Enrollment at the elementary school was 187 students with a 93.51 percent average attendance. The middle school had 100 students with a 95.35 percent average attendance. The high school had 144 students with a 93.77 percent attendance. The total enrollment was 431 students with a 94.21 percent average attendance.

Vienna High School Principal Tim Metcalf was unable to attend the meeting, so Special Education Director Joe Edwards read his report.

Metcalf said the students who participated in the Students Against Drunk Driving staged crash did an “excellent job.”

Students viewed the partial solar eclipse on April 8.

The VHS Black and Gold Invitational on April 9 brought first-place finishes to both the boys’ and girls’ varsity track teams. Ava Kloeppel broke the school shot put record with a distance of 37 feet and 1.75 inches. The previous record was set by Rebecca Hertzing in 2016 at 36 feet and 4 inches.

Seven students received state FFA degrees, two students made the FFA state choir and one student made FFA state talent. The knowledge and livestock judging teams competed at the state convention.

End of Course (EOC) testing began on April 10. Students in biology, algebra I, government and English II classes take the exams. Previously, the school tested students in a large group in the gym. This year, it changed to students taking the test in their classrooms.

Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) testing began on April 16. Students in third through eighth grade take the test in math and English. Fifth and eighth-grade students also take the test in science.

Juniors and seniors received CPR training on April 15.

Seniors took their final exams from April 24 through April 26. Their last day of school was April 26.

The course descriptions and master schedules for the 2024-25 school year are completed.

Then, Edwards delivered his special education report.

The district recently created a special education bus route.

A student recently transferred to Discovery Schools in Rolla at Maries R-1’s expense for transportation and tuition.

The federal funds for Part B Proportionate Share have been released to schools. The intention of the funds is to help home-schooled or private school students with disabilities. The release of the funds frees up state and local funding in the amount of $3,769.57 because of a carryover from last year that exceeded the budget for the program.

At the time of the meeting, the special education department had held 56 individualized educational plan (IEP) eligibility meetings. Fifty-five students had IEPs, including three home-schooled or private school students. Four more meetings were required by the end of the school year. The department had conducted 32 evaluations or reevaluations of students.