While much is yet unknown about how the fall semester will look for area schools, Wright City R-II has begun taking steps to prepare for a safe return to campus facilities.

The R-II School Board discussed and voted on several related matters during its latest meeting May 21. While districts across the state are facing a decrease in expected revenue, relief for COVID-19 has provided necessary funding to help modify learning and athletic spaces.

It’s anticipated that R-II will receive $235,000 to go toward COVID-19 relief efforts within the district.

“We have more meetings coming up, and we’ll know more as we prepare for the budget meeting at the end of June,” said Superintendent Dr. David Buck.

The district approved the acquisition of multiple electronic devices to assist in at-home and virtual distance learning. This includes the purchase of additional computers so now every student from kindergarten through 12th grade will be supplied with a Chromebook laptop. The anticipated cost is around $117,000.

“We’re trying to limit the number of shared objects we’re using as well,” said Buck. “This will allow each student to have their own computer for use.”

To ensure all students have adequate resources for learning at home, including internet access, R-II has ordered 70 hotspot devices through Verizon.

“If we need them in the future, now we will be prepared and have them,” said Board President Austin Jones. “Like with many things, they take a while, so we need to get them ordered to have them in place in time for students.”

Another point of discussion was how to handle the gate admission for fall sports. Ultimately, the board voted to waive the admission gate fees to prevent face-to-face contact between gatekeepers and spectators.

“The board gave us permission to not collect for the fall,” said Buck. “We’ll see how it goes after that. With our outside sports, we often have staff walking up to car windows to collect cash, which could be a potential risk.”

Typically the district brings in around $22,000 from gate receipts during the fall, paying out approximately $6,000 for workers. Jones said there is consideration for having a donation box.

The board also approved ordering plexiglass to create barriers for places of common exchange, such as offices and libraries.

“We needed to go ahead and order those now, because they will take a while to get, so we wanted to have them in plenty of time for the school year to start,” said Superintendent Buck.

Additionally, board members discussed replacement of water fountains with water bottle filling stations, as well as the placement of 60 sanitizing stations — one for every four classrooms throughout the district.

The district is also working to transfer all building-to-building paperwork online, as well as replace the building check-in system with key fobs.