Good News from Grove School Board Meeting 6/10/'25

 

 

***Electric Bus News

*** Financial Reports now in Agenda

***How to Receive the Agenda for Meetings  

 

Electric Bus News

Administration will be meeting with Highland Electric this week to talk about the possibility of that company providing us with the services we need for our electric bus fleet.  You may read more about this company at https://highlandfleets.com/  .  

 

Financial Reports now in Agenda

I was excited to see pdfs of full financial reports now included in the Consent Agenda for the meeting under  Approval of bills and claims,

Approval of the financial report of the activity funds , and Treasurer's report as the status of funds and investments.

 

These reports show us the source of income and the pay-outs for our school.  

 

How to Receive the Agendas for Meetings

Go to ridgerunners.net and click on the magnifying glass in the red box at the upper right.  

Type School Board in the search box. 

Click on the words School Board that are in red.

You will see Board Agendas on the left.  Click on that. The screen below will come up.  

Follow the directions that appear there and you will start receiving notifications for the meetings.  The agenda with pdfs will be displayed when you click on "Agenda" to the right side.  

(This is a picture of the notification I received for the 6/10/2025 meeting.  I added the red words. You can read the reports from that meeting by clicking on "Agenda" without signing up for meeting notification.  

I hope you find this helpful information in understanding our school processes a bit better.  Publishing this information for the public to see in the agendas is an extraordinary move by the Grove schools.  I have not found another school doing this yet.  

Pam Jarrett 

 

A Solution for our Buses is Being Considered--Grove Public Schools

There is a solution being considered for our electric buses that would provide maintenance and service for our fleet.  This is good news! Details will be released at the appropriate time.  

Here is a statement from our Superintendent Dodson:

We currently run 13 routes daily. We have 13 electric buses. 11 route buses and 2 Special Service buses. We also have 13 diesel buses as backups. We have 10 route buses and 3 activity buses. My goal is to purchase 1 diesel bus a year, for the next 3 years for activity trips, to bolster our back ups, and to have options to run all daily routes regardless of the electric bus situation. Overall, we have been happy with the electric buses. For 2 years they have served us well, with minor issues (charging stations-unrelated to Lion). The district will always look for the best (practical, reliable, economical, and safe) options to provide transportation services for our kids.

 

Thank you Superintendent Dodson for that information.

 

Shared by Pam Jarrett with permission.

Latest News About Lion Electric Bus Company

 

There has been a recent development in the situation with the LION Electric Vehicle Company that manufactured 13 of our school buses.  Read about it here: 

https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/electric-vehicles/quebec-judge-approves-sale-lion-electric-investors 

There will be questions as to how this affects us.  Be patient as the school works through this, please.

 

From the May 13th School Board Meeting

 

 

This is script of what I shared with the Board at the May 13th Meeting

Updates

1.       Whenever I stand before you, I want you to be able to trust that what I say is factual and true.  Last month I told you that FROG , the name of the Robotics team, stands for FIRST Robotics of Grove.  This was an error.  FROG really stands for FIRST Robotics Organization of Grove.  Gotta get it right!

2.      I have been following the situation with the LION Electric Company and the effect of their bankruptcy on our district since we have 13 of their electric buses in our fleet.  I emailed each of you information that became available May 1, 2025.  Quoting from that article published by TheFinancialPost.com-

The Canadian government turned down an opportunity to put money into the firm along with local investors. “We believed in LION’s potential, but the recovery plan submitted did not justify the re-injection of significant government sums, Unfortunately , it’s clear that providing LION with additional funds would not be a responsible decision.”-”La Presse reported Wednesday evening that LION is now likely to be sold in parts, meaning the end of the company.  The expected shutdown may leave many bus owners in Canada and the US without maintenance services going forward.

LION has already shut down operations in Joliet, Illinois, and at a battery pack assembly plant in Mirabel, Quebec.”

Then from The energymix.com on May 5^th: Quote” A restructuring specialist with Deloitte told a Superior Court heart Monday that government aid would have been a condition of any sale of the struggling company.

With that possibility of that off the table, he said, it’s unlikely any buyer will step forward with a plan to relaunch the company which sought protection from its creditors in December of 2024. 

“The likelihood of a liquidation of assets is very high, “he said.”

Update 3

Last month I requested the Principals’ Reports be included in the minutes of the meeting.  I was so happy to see the reports included in tonight’s agenda.  Thank you!  That is so helpful.

Now for tonight’s business—

I notice several items in the Consent Agenda of a financial nature.  I believe the purpose of the Consent Agenda is to group many items together that can be accepted in one vote thus saving time. Perhaps my understanding of this is incorrect.

 A main issue for people looking at the school is how the money is spent.  I maintain it would be wise to publish the figures you see given in the Consent Agenda on your computers as part of the minutes, too.  Tonight, that would be VII.1. B Approval of Bills and Claims, VII. 1. C Approval of financial report of the activity fund, and VII. 1.D. Treasurer’s Report as the status of funds and investments.  I noted the item VII. 1.F Accept donations as per attachment A so that means we as a community will have access to that information.

It was recently pointed out to me that our Delaware County Clerk has a weekly report published of payments made on behalf of Delaware  County Commissioners.  While it may not be necessary for a weekly report with the school, it would seem a good idea for our community to see exactly what is shared with you in the Consent Agenda reports.

And lastly, there is a threat to our young people that can come to them through their phones.  The FBI has recently opened 250 investigations into 764, a group that has the destruction of our youth in mind.  If you do a search for 764 you will find information.  I would hope every parent would be concerned about this enough to check it out. 

Thank you for listening!

Pam Jarrett

 

During the Superintendent's Report, he lauded the way the everyone had acted appropriately when the tornado came through around 8:00 AM and people were arriving at school.  He thanked the bus leadership for the way they are prepared for every challenging situation that may come up.

 

Superintendent Dodson also spoke of going to the Newcomer's meeting and telling them about financial facts regarding the bond issues, mill levies, etc and how they work.  As I understood it, he also took questions as a way to increase communication with the community and tell the school's story.

 

During the meeting, many young people were recognized for awards they received.  It is always good to see their accomplishments!

 

If I am reminded of other things I will add them.  There is a lot a person can learn from attending the Board Meetings.  I highly recommend it.

 

 

From the April 8th Grove School Board Meeting

 

Below you will find what I presented at audience time and the report from the Superintendent. 

 

Update on the situation with the Lion Electric bankruptcy:  As of April 7, yesterday, there are no further developments I can find in the proceedings.  Bids to buy the company were to be in March 14, 2025.  Meanwhile I am guessing the situation here with our Lion Electric buses is about the same as reported last month.

This evening I would like to speak about the Robotics team,  reporting on financial donations to the school , as well as school reports that could be beneficial to the community.

The Robotics team, FROG  (First Robotics of Grove) 3160, recently competed in the Kansas City Regionals and came out winning by being on the #1 alliance.  It had been a rough season with many challenges which included manufacturing more of their parts which took more time, the finished robot being overweight requiring some redesign, and not having adequate time to test and practice driving the robot. 

In the end, Team FROG had persisted to the point of being consistent is moving in autonomous mode and being able to accomplish the final hanging off the floor. 

At the end of competition qualifications, our team was ranked 22^nd.  The top ranked 8 teams got to go in order and ask a second robot to join their alliance.  In Kansas City the #1 team asked #2 to be on their team and we knew that was a winning combination.   After the 8^th team selected their 2^nd robot, they selected their third robot for their alliance as the selection started from the bottom and went up in reverse order.  When it was time for Team 1 to make their final selection, FROG had not been selected.  They were surprised and excited to be asked to join Team #1!

The strategy was that FROG would do the tasks they had mastered, play defense and leave the zipping around making points to the other robots.  Team #1 including FROG won the competition. 

Robotics students have several adult community members as mentors.  They meet at the GLARE building (Grand Lake Area Robotics Education) owned by a private citizen of the community several times a week.  Over the years I am aware of, there have been three mentors receive the Woody Flowers award at the Tulsa Regionals—a kind of Mentor of the Year award from nominations  made by team members.  FROG mentors receiving  that awardare Don Malone, Jeanne Smith (teacher at Grove HS) and Brian Jarrett.  I am very proud of our team made from Grove school students and home-schooled young people from our community.  Our team competes against big teams from big schools and even foreign countries.  Teams are urged to treat each other with “gracious professionalism” which is another way of saying “treat others the way you would like to be treated.”   

FROG receives community support from the Rotary Club and various interested individuals.

 As I was campaigning, people would ask me to check in to where money goes.  They would like a clearer explanation (as would I) of where the $217,349.64 from Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative tax distribution in 2024 went.  This distribution happens every year.  For someone to guess and say, “It goes into the general fund,” is not specific enough answer.  Recently, the Cherokee Nation gave our school $137,536.  To say it goes to creating “positive and lasting impacts” is not going far enough to answer the question of what the money is used for.

One more suggestion I would have to add to a greater informed community would be to publish the reports from Principals that are given in the Board Meeting. It seems from what I have heard that each Principal submits a written report to the Board each month. If those could be included in the Minutes, it would be enlightening.   I learn so much from the reports and am always glad to hear the news about what is going on in each building.       

Submitted by Pam Jarrett

Superintendent Report

1. The bond passed in August was a General Obligation bond for $9,875,000 with no projected tax increase. The money comes to the school in separate issuances. The first payment came in November for $5,025,000 and it is a three year issue. The next payment will be in July of 2026 for $2,750,000 on a two year issue. The final payment will be $2,100,000 in July of 2027. I provided the board with a list of the projected schedule of construction jobs for each of the three issuances of funding with the amount allocated per line item in the proposition.
2. Listening Sessions: The most telling comments from the Listening Sessions are about communication. Telling our story and communicating how the improvements will directly impact students and programs. Many stakeholders have been disconnected from the great things that happen everyday in our district. One of my goals will be to provide more insight and information so our community can better understand the needs of our district. The perception data from the report will help guide our district as we move forward to best serve our student's needs.
3. Brightwell: I provided our legal counsel with the Brightwell solar panel service agreement. Our attorney believes there are portions in conflict with existing state statutes. As of now this project is on pause until Brightwell amends the service agreement to the satisfaction of our attorneys.
4. Cherokee nation Tag money of $137,535.80 was received on March 25. The amount donated to all schools in the Cherokee Nation is based on the number of Cherokee students enrolled in each district. I have full discretion on how to spend the money. We have earmarked some funding for high school students' summer school credit recovery to get back on track to graduate. The primary expense is the teacher salary. The balance of the funding will be used for before and after school tutoring next school year. We have relied on other sources of funding in the past for tutoring which are no longer available.
5. REA tax (Rural Electrification Association Cooperative Tax) is a tax levied on rural electric coops in accordance with property valuation and distributed in proportion to the number of miles of transmission lines within each school district. All schools are funded by three primary sources of revenue: (1) Local, which are Ad valorem or property taxes levied in mills. 1 mill is 1/1000 of a dollar or .001; (2) State, which includes revenue distributed through the State Aid Salary formula, Gross production tax on gas and oil, Motor vehicle collections, and REA Tax already mentioned. (3) Federal funding comes in the way of Title I, II, III, IV, V, and IX dollars, Child Nutrition, Indian Ed. to name a few.
6. New bus schedule eliminates the change in start times for the UE/MS and the ECC/LE.  

7. COW  donations raised will contribute to the Backpack program which provides supplemental weekend meals for students in need. According to the Church on the Hill which sponsors this program, the budget has grown to over $100,000 as the needs of our kids have increased.

8. Rotary Students of the Month:

September: Jackson Gain and Brecklynn Carnes

October: Christopher Johnson and Emalee Gregg

November: Jacob Gain and Kaybree Fields

December: Deringer Hollenbeck and Ella Kernan

January: Will Roberts and Siera Yurko

February: Laird Thompson and Rei Reavis

March: Eli Rabel and Kate Thomas

April: Joeseph Wang and Hannah McCrary

 

Thank you Superintendent  Dodson for this informative report!