School building in Sedalia to be sold

By Rob Treynor

Staff Writer

The Madison-Plains Board of Education voted on Tuesday to sell the Midway school building in Sedalia.

Anyone want to buy a school?

The Madison-Plains Board of Education (BOE) voted Tuesday night to advertise the auction to sell Midway Elementary in Sedalia.

The building, and its seven acres of land will be sold to the highest bidder. Some of the inventory from the school will be sold as well. The auction is slated for September 2012, but the specific date and time are yet to be determined.

Board member Don Swonger led a discussion of the sale of the school before voting.

“Has any government body shown any interest in the property?” Swonger asked.

Superintendent Bernie Hall replied, “Yes. There is a public entity that is interested in talking to the board about it.”

Swonger asked if the school system would talk to the ‘public entity’ first, before putting the school on the auction block.

Hall assured him, “Yes. That is the first step.”

In other business:

• Hall informed the BOE that the school system had received 290 iPads. Each includes a bluetooth keyboard and a cover.

It hasn’t been determined exactly when and how the iPads will be distributed to the seventh- and eighth-graders.

“We’re looking over procedures with students and parents,” Hall said.

About the iPads, Hall added, “We’re begging that students appreciate them and take care of them.”

• A revised student handbook, allowing for dresses and skirts to be worn, was passed unanimously by the board.

• A new, sponsor-paid scoreboard has been delivered to the high school.

“It will be erected in the next few weeks,” Hall said. “The old one won’t come down until the new one is working.”

• The board accepted the resignations of several staff members. Most notably, Paula Herald, librarian, has retired after 25 years with the school system.

• The board voted to accept the hiring contracts for several teachers and administrators. Most notably, Kimberly LeGault was hired to be the principal at the Junior High School.

The Board of Education will next meet for a special work session on Thursday, Aug. 2.

At the meeting, the board will vote whether to put a proposed 2.5-mill replacement levy on November’s ballot or not.

The next regular meeting will be held Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. School curricula will be discussed.

The first day of school for most Madison-Plains students is Tuesday, Aug. 21.