CHERRY TWP — Moniteau School Board approved more measures relating to COVID-19 mitigation at Monday's meeting, including cutting the student parking fee.

The board approved a motion 7-1 in favor of eliminating the student parking fee for one year. Board member Michael Baptiste voted no, and board member Randy Armagost was absent.

“It's to encourage those students to drive who can, so we can lessen the number of students we put on buses,” said Moniteau Superintendent Tom Samosky.

Baptiste said eliminating the fee would not increase students driving themselves to school, and it adds yet another, albeit smaller, hole in their upcoming budget.

“Maybe I will be wrong,” Baptiste said. “We will still need to find that money somewhere in the budget to replace the lost income to repair the parking lot.”

The board also approved a few more uses of funding from the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act.

In an 8-0 vote, the board approved purchasing three livestreaming kits that could be used to stream sporting events should the PIAA continue with the 2020-21 seasons.

With another 8-0 vote, the board approved the purchase of new software that will allow teachers to enter the building with the swipe of a card instead of going to the office. The software would also have better scheduling capabilities, allowing substitutes to plan ahead.

Jeff Campbell, the district's director of operations, said the majority of the multiple construction projects as well as COVID-19 room upgrades and cleaning, all on about the same timeline, are 85 percent to 90 percent complete.

“We are just on the homestretch of getting everything ready,” Campbell said.

After the meeting, Board President Michael Panza addressed new advisement from the state on back-to-school models. The state Department of Education's latest recommendations include metrics on when certain instructional models should be used based on county COVID-19 statistics over a seven-day period.

The state recommends either full, in-person learning or blended learning for counties in the “low” level of risk for transmission of the virus, which is equal to 10 or fewer incidences per 100,000 residents. For the “moderate” level, which is between 11 and 100 incidences, the state recommends blended learning or full remote learning, while at the “substantial level,” or 101 incidences or more, the state recommends only remote learning.

Panza said he viewed the new guidance as “recommendations.” He said the Moniteau community largely wants to return to classrooms, including his 5-year-old granddaughter.

“We did a survey — 80 percent of our parents said they want to come back,” Panza said. “We'll still do what we have to do, but I think we're still respectful of our community.”

Samosky said he and his administration remain optimistic that they will be back in school Sept. 8. “I think we have a solid plan for our return to school. I think our kids and parents are ready to return to normal,” Samosky said. “If there's further direction that leads to a hybrid model, we're prepared for that as well.”