The price for success appears to be $1,000 a month plus utilities and minor maintenance.[wpedon id=”82220″ align=”center”]
At least those were the terms of a lease agreement with Tom and Kay Stokely of Perry approved by the Perry school board at its May meeting. In exchange, the district will house its new Success Room classes in the former Snap Fitness location at 1030 26th St., commonly known as the East Perry Plaza.
Some minor renovations will be needed, but the space has everything the district was looking for, Superintendent Clark Wicks said. The lease will be in effect from July 1 through June 30, 2019.
“We can make several classrooms out of it,” Wicks said, “and it’s close to the high school and middle school campuses, which was important to us. I think this will work out in everyone’s favor.”
The idea behind the Success Room was discussed at the April meeting of the board. The new location will house students who face difficulties adjusting to a more traditional educational environment, including some with disciplinary issues.
Wicks said he anticipates the students will range from fifth through 12th grade, and they will be separated as they are in a normal setting.
“What we are looking for here is to help these kids receive a quality education and not fall through the cracks, as it were, just because they might require additional or non-traditional attention,” he said. “We will use existing staff already working with these kids. It will just be in a different environment and one we expect will foster success.”
Costs, including staffing, are expected to run between $35,000 to $40,000 annually. The district believes the increased costs will be offset by no longer having to send some students to Woodward Academy or similar sites.
In other business, the board addressed the need to firm up the language in their animal policy because recent issues brought the subject to the forefront.
Some animals are kept on premises for science classes or educational purposes, but others are sometimes brought onto school grounds without a clear reason.
“We could have students who have allergies, or who have fear of certain animals, those kinds of things, and we should not overlook those concerns,” Director Linda Andorf said.
The board noted the value of service animals but stressed those animals would be to licensed and/or have a trained handler with them.
High School Principal Dan Marburger said there have been a few times when a puppy was brought to the school because a faculty member “could not find a sitter for them.”
“That is not what our mission is,” he said. “I think we need to have more definition on what is and is not allowed.”
The new animal policy under consideration will allow on campus dogs and cats that are trained and registered as service or therapy animals.
A first reading was approved, with additional discussion expected at the June 11 meeting of the board. The Perry school board meets the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Brady Library at PHS, with the public welcome to attend.
