Description of the School District
The purpose of Joppa-Maple Grove School District #38 is to provide public education services for children who reside within the physical boundaries of the district, from age 3 through high school graduation. The District is dedicated to provide an environment designed to aid each student to mature intellectually, socially, physically, and emotionally to the limits of his/her abilities and interests.
Joppa-Maple Grove School District #38 is located in deep southern Illinois bordering the Ohio River and the state of Kentucky in Massac County, serving approximately 300 students in or near the village of Joppa, Illinois. This rural district is one of two school districts in Massac County and encompasses approximately 52 square miles. There are two attendance centers- Maple Grove Elementary School with an enrollment of 190 students in grades Pre-K-6 located 1.8 miles from Joppa; and Joppa Jr/ Sr High School with an enrollment of 115 students in grades 7-12, located within the village of Joppa.
Fifty-seven percent (57.7%) of the students in the school district are from low-income homes. The median household income of $21, 601 for Joppa is below the state average of $54,124. Statistics show that less than seven percent (7%) of the population has attained a bachelor’s degree or higher. The village’s unemployment percentage is higher than the state or county averages at approximately sixteen percent (15.6%). The number of jobs in Joppa has decrease by 8% since September 2007. The village population is 87 % white, 7.6% black and 6.3% two or more races, Hispanic or other race.
The operating budget for FY 2010 is $3,328,583, which includes planned expenditures in the following funds: Education, $2,465,591; Operations & Maintenance, $370,840; Debt Service, $59,410; Transportation, $190,980; Municipal Retirement & Social Security, $87,938; Capital Projects, $50,000; Tort, $99,124; and Fire Prevention, $4,700.
There are two school offices- Maple Grove Elementary at 1698 Grand Chain Road, Metropolis, Illinois; and Joppa Jr Sr High School at PO Box 10, 911 Joppa North Avenue, Joppa, Illinois -and one business office. The District Business Office is located within the Joppa Jr Sr High School.
The District employs 29 professional and 21 support staff. Of this staff, there are 8 part-time and 42 full time regular employees. The administration includes a superintendent and one principal.
Functional Divisions of District
Board of Education
Superintendent
Principal Maintenance Supervisor Treasurer Bookkeeper
Support Staff Professional Staff
Administrative Assistants Teachers
Instructional Paraprofessionals Speech Therapist
Custodians Guidance Counselor
Cooks
Members of the Board of Education
President, David Godfrey
Vice President, Charles Peck
Secretary, Gail Stubblefield
Carl Blanchard
Charles Johnson
Charlie Lewis
Clarence Russell
Active Members of the FY 2010 Community Advisory Council
Beth Adkins Vickie Artman
Penny Bellamey Joy Copeland
Linda Crossland Karen Cox
Melissa Heckenliable Mayor Julia Johnson
Tamra Peck Sarah Wittig
ADMINISTRATION OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
Joppa-Maple Grove SD #38 will use the following procedures in an effort to provide information to the public under the requirements of the Illinois Compiled Statues, Chapter 5, Section 140, et seq. (Freedom of Information Act):
Procedures for Requesting Public Records
1. Individuals seeking to inspect public records and/or obtain copies of records may do so by contacting the Office of the Superintendent at PO, Box 10, 911 Joppa North Avenue, Joppa, IL 62953, the designated Freedom of Information Act office of the District. The Superintendent and Bookkeeper are the designated Freedom of Information Officers of the District. Requests will be received on any day the Superintendent’s Office is open for business, and will be processed in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. All requests must be in writing. To facilitate a timely reply, the District asks that all requests include, at a minimum, the information listed below.
- The name, address, and phone number of the requestor.
- A description of the information requested.
- An indication of whether the records are to be inspected at the Superintendent’s office or mailed to the requestor and, if mailed, whether or not such copies are to be certified or handled in any other special way.
- The date of the request.
2. Unless the Freedom of Information Act officer handling the request agrees otherwise, records that are requested and approved for release may only be inspected between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on days when the Superintendent’s Office is officially open.
3. Records which are stored and retrieved by electronic data processing means will be printed, as appropriate, and provided to the requestor. If information is requested on a disk or tape format, the requestor must pay for the cost of the disk or tape.
4. Unless the request is made for a commercial purpose, all paper copies shall be provided at no cost for the first fifty (50) pages (letter size or legal size) of black and white print. A charge of fifteen (15) cents per page will be accessed for copies made for a commercial purpose and for pages exceeding fifty. All data provided in any other format, including color print, will be provided to the requestor for a fee equal to the cost of time and material to reproduce the data. The cost will be determined on the basis of current costs of labor and material as determined by the business office at the time of the request. Actual cost will be billed by the business office for payment of expenses to provide requested information.
Procedures for District Response to Request for Public Records
1. Unless the purpose for the request is commercial, the District will respond to a written request for public records within five (5) business days after the receipt of such request.
2. The District may give notice of an extension of time to respond which does not exceed an additional five (5) business days. This written notice must be provided within the original five (5) business day time limit and only for the reasons provided in Section 3(e) of the FOIA. Such notice of extension shall state the reason the extension is necessary. If the second five (5) days is taken, the District cannot deny the request based upon it being unduly burdensome.
3. The District shall respond to a request for public records in one of four ways:
a. approve the request
b. approve in part and deny in part
c. deny the request
d. deny the request as presented, but inform the requestor that the request is unduly burdensome and ask to confer with the requestor to determine how the request can be reduced to a manageable size.
4. Upon approval of a request for public records, the District may either provide the materials immediately, give notice that the materials shall be made available upon payment of reproduction costs and/or give notice of the time and place for inspection of records.
5. A denial of a request for public records shall be made in writing. It shall state the names and titles of the persons responsible for the denial and the reasons for the denial. The reasons should be supported with a detailed factual basis in accordance with Section 3(g), Section 7, or Section 7.5 of the FOIA. Denials based upon Section 7 must include a citation to the specific legal authority that is relied upon. The denial must also explain that the requestor has the right to appeal to the Public Access Counselor whose address and phone number must be provided, or to the circuit court.
6. Requests creating an undue burden upon the District shall be denied only after extending to the requestor an opportunity to confer in an attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions in accordance with Section 3(g) of the FOIA. No extensions of time will be taken if the request is denied because it is unduly burdensome.
7. Failure to respond to a written request within five (5) business days or any extensions allowed by law may be considered by the requestor to be a denial of the request.