Elementary School access discussed at meeting

Parental access to the elementary school was a contentious issue at the Feb. 18 Mountain Grove R-III School Board meeting.
According to Superintendent Dr. Aaron Gerla, the accessibility of the elementary school “is an ongoing discussion from a few months ago. This is a difficult topic that all schools have to tackle.”
The Board requested from  Dr. Shawna Gruben, principal of the elementary school, a discussion and plan regarding the accessibility for parents at the elementary school based on concerns the campus is less accessible than other campuses.
Access to the classroom for parties or classroom activities has been limited since Covid, and parents and select Board members are looking for that to change.
Current policy limits parent access to classrooms unless volunteers pass a background check and those approved are allowed on campus in a limited capacity. Some parents in the district aren’t happy with that limited availability. Even with the volunteers being background checked, some infractions can be overlooked.
“Our district uses two different types of backgrounds”, said Denver Mitchell, operations director.
“One background we use for staff and faculty is an FBI national background check that will update us if there are any infractions immediately. If someone were to be arrested, we would be notified. The volunteer background is simply a snapshot provided by Missouri State troopers, with no follow up if anything were to happen.”
The main challenge to school site access discussed during the meeting was campus security. One educator described an incident to the Board that occurred during her 30 years of experience in the classroom.
“I have had as an educator many incidents with parents on campus. I had a father throw me up against the wall of my classroom. If it had not been for the panic button being within reach, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”
She and multiple other educators discussed experiences including verbal abuse from parents and foul language being yelled at them in front of kids.
One incident described an occasion where the father of a student was released from prison the morning of a school event after serving time for murder. The teachers remembered in detail the impact to the students and learning environment as they limited access to the school from this parent forcefully. These educators’ and administrators’ unified discussion point was the safety of their students, and their sentiments brought threats to that security to light.
When asked for a comment in reaction to these concerns, Superintendent Dr Gerla provided the following statement: “Our number one responsibility for our students is to give them a safe environment to learn in while also trying to give access to our parents to be a part of that learning process. We are going to continue to have this discussion and hope to find a middle ground that both sides can benefit from.”
The discussion is expected to continue at the next scheduled Board meeting to be held on March 17.