Several student accomplishments were recognized by the Callaway Board of Education at their monthly meeting on April 14, including participants in State FFA, State Speech, and State FCCLA, before the board dove into the business portion of the meeting.

The review and discussion of a number of policies ate up a large portion of the three-hour meeting. “There were many policies that did not make it into our local policy book, so we are going back through and adding all of those,” explained Superintendent JD Furrow. “And there were some questions that led to conversation.”

Several policies were introduced for first read at last month’s meeting, and this month those policies were on the agenda for second read along with a new list for first read. “The board has taken a lot of time to read up on policy and to make sure that we have everything that we are supposed to have in our local policy book,” Furrow added.

All of the policies presented for first and second reading were approved as presented.

During his superintendent’s report, Furrow informed the board that the district has purchased a new vehicle for faculty and small group trips. The student handbook was discussed but not approved, as the administration is working on revamping the school’s attendance policy to more align with state statute.

Wages for classified staff were addressed, and the board agreed to raise the wage for paraeducators who are required to have special medical training for their students, and everyone was given a three percent raise.

The board discussed junior high sports and the possibility of moving practice times for those activities to after school. Furrow explained that the administration has been collecting opinions and pros and cons, and will now discuss those with the Arnold administration at the next co-op meeting.

The junior high was also the subject of a discussion regarding relocating sixth grade to the high school to create a true middle school. The board opted not to make that move at this time.

It was decided to condense the summer school program from four weeks to three weeks this year, partly due to no longer having ESSR funds to offset the cost.

Furrow said another factor was that not many kids have attended during the fourth week in the past.

A great deal of discussion was had on the 2025-26 school calendar, with the board ultimately approving the proposed calendar. Furrow said there will be some changes made for the 2026-27 calendar.

The next meeting was set for Tuesday, May 13, at 8 p.m.