Creston Community Middle School students will soon be able to take their driving permit tests at the middle school instead of having to go to the courthouse after the Creston Community School District Board of Directors unanimously approved the proposal at Monday’s regular meeting.
This is a pilot program being offered by the district, as CCSD Superintendent Steve McDermott said the district will see how the program goes the rest of the current school year.
“We’re hoping that will help families and that way they don’t have to pull kids out of school to go take those tests,” McDermott said. “We’re going to try this for the rest of this school year and see how it goes.”
McDermott said there has been a steady flow of students being pulled from classes at the middle school to go take the test at the courthouse.
“When we heard this was a new idea that certain counties were trying, then Kelly Busch at the courthouse started working with Mr. Baker on that and they decided maybe we could try it here,” McDermott said.
Students who are interested in taking the driving permit test at the middle school should contact the school.
Eventually, a more detailed process and a routine schedule will be set up and announced to families. McDermott said the district will have that information available on its website when it is ready.
“As a parent who’s gone through that process, I would strongly encourage it,” Board Member Terry Freeman said during Monday’s meeting. “I think it’s something worth taking a look at.”
Board Member Don Gee asked if the program would include the freshmen who have not yet taken the driving permit test.
“It sure could. I’m not sure how the scheduling would go for that. We’ll see if we can make that available to them,” McDermott said.
Stadium rental
The board also unanimously approved a stadium rental and usage policy for the newly renovated Panther Stadium.
McDermott studied policies from several school districts and came up with a list of 27 rules and regulations for renting and using the facility, in addition to procedures for applying for use of the stadium.
The application form and a fee schedule for renting the stadium has yet to be adopted by the district, but McDermott felt it was important with the stadium already being used for activities, to establish a set of rules or guidelines.
“Of course the field is being used as we speak. It’s getting used every week and every weekend,” McDermott said. “Before we have problems, we better get some rules and regulations set so everyone knows the expectations.”
One issue the district has already encountered is the use of sunflower seeds on the field. The seeds cannot be raked up off the field and cannot be vacuumed off the field, because the vacuum will bring up the rubber infill.
“Seeds just absolutely do not work on the new turf,” McDermott said. “On the long list of dos and don’ts, that’s one.”
McDermott also reiterated that dogs are not to be allowed on the new turf, and additional fencing that is planned in the near future should help with the issue of dogs running at large.
Another main point of emphasis, according to McDermott, is that stakes or any chairs, tables or benches that can perforate any of the surfacing are not allowed. For example, visiting track teams will not be able to set up tents on the infield.
“That list is long,” McDermott said. “We’ve invested some money in that and we want to take care of it.”
Events and activities such as the youth padded football league and Relay For Life are traditional events that use the facility.
McDermott said those events will not be charged for using the stadium, as they are local nonprofits.
“But we do need to have a policy set up because once in a great while, we may have someone come in and want to rent that whole facility,” McDermott said. “Especially this fall, where we’ve had some consistent rain, there may be some neighboring school districts that may want to use our field, maybe have their home game over here on a night where it’s wet and muddy at their home place. We’ve seen some teams do that in recent weeks around the state.”
The full list of rules and regulations for stadium rental and usage can be seen on the school board section of the district's website (www.crestonschools.org) by clicking on school board agendas/minutes and then clicking on 2018-19 board agendas and Sept. 17, 2018, board agenda and then scrolling down to item I under New Business.