Alpha 7 Outdoor Suppressor Day Marquee March 2024

Russell County USD 407 Board of Education Meets for Work Session

Russell County USD 407
Russell County USD 407

The Russell County USD 407 Board of Education met Monday for a special work session.

The main discussion focused on the USD 407 Board of Education goals for the upcoming school year.

Those goals are USD 407 will improve communication from the district to the internal and external publics by May of 2022, USD 407 will provide updated and safe facilities to meet the educational needs of students by May of 2022, and USD 407 will increase the percentage of successful high school graduates from 73 percent to 90 percent by May of 2022.

The Board, Superintendent Shelly Swayne and the other administrators discussed the communication goal first, noting several efforts that have been made to increase communication within the school buildings and out in the community, such as social media and livestreams.

The graduation percentage was then discussed, with Swayne stating the 2021 graduation rate was 92 percent and the 2020 graduation rate was 86 percent. The district will continue to do more data research moving forward.

The last goal discussed - facilities - resulted in the longest discussion. Electrical upgrades at Ruppenthal Middle School are nearly complete, but the next planned phase of that project is installing a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. Simpson Elementary School is also in need of significant heating system repairs and the plan is to install new HVAC there as well. No action was taken Monday, but the Board is expected to consider taking the next step on upgrades at either or both RMS and SES in August.

Superintendent Swayne said it was a tough discussion about facilities trying to determine how to fund the projects, but she said the district is trying its best to move forward.

Audio file

Staffing was also discussed at the meeting with a handful of new contracts approved.

Listen below to an interview with Superintendent Swayne recapping the meeting.

Audio file