HERMANN — The Gasconade County R-1 School District board has agreed to waive the restriction on liquor sales for a hotel planned on the current site of Creekside Nursery.

Area resident Brian Houska Thursday night outlined his plans to develop a hotel on the site; he is in the process of purchasing the Creekside Nursery property, he told the board. Part of the deal for developing a hotel, he said, is the ability to have liquor sales at the name-brand lodging facility. Houska did not identify a specific company to operate the hotel.

Although state law prohibits liquor sales within 300 feet of a school, the decision to uphold the ban or allow sales is left to school districts. Superintendent Geoff Neill told the directors he has no issues with granting a waiver.

“I wouldn’t have a problem with writing a letter,” he said.

The R-1 Board, at the recommendation of Director Mark Brooks, agreed to waive the restriction. A letter formally granting the waiver will be sent to Houska, who said he will be joined by his son, Brett, and “a couple more investors” in developing the lodging facility.

The decision to grant a waiver is done on a school building-by-school building basis. This applies only to a development within 300 feet of the high school campus.

In other matters, the board heard a presention from Jason Hoffman, a former public education administrator who now works for an investment management company, about managing more than a million dollars of the district’s money — funds that would not need to be readily available and could be used to generate a greater return through investments.

Hoffmann works for MOCAAT, which is the Missouri arm of PMA of Naperville, Ill. He said MOCAAT, which specializes in investing public education dollars, has $2.5 billion under management. He said the company places funds in U.S. Treasury notes, short-term investments and other interest-bearing instruments. He told the board the company has a primary focus of safety, liquidity and yield for districts’ tax dollars with the safety of the money being the top priority.

Hoffman said he thinks R-1 will have about $1.5 million that it won’t need access to within the next year, which would make it available for investing.

The R-1 board agreed earlier to join MOCAAT, but has yet to place funds with the organization. No action was taken after Hoffman’s presentation.

Also at last week’s regular monthly board session, members agreed to meet Wednesday, Nov. 29, in closed session to review the R-1’s so-called report card — the results of student assessment tests from last school year. The closed session will be held because the data that measures how well the district is teaching its students is embargoed by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). A location for the closed session had yet to be selected. It’s unclear when the information will be made available to the public.

In other matters, R-1 Special Services Director Missy Ash reported that she is reaching out to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks as a possible partner in generating funds for the annual Special Olympics Track Meet hosted by R-1. Next year’s event is set for Friday, May 3.

By becoming a member of the Foundation and its 501(c)3 designation, the Special Olympics program might benefit from more donations, which would qualify for tax breaks. In her report, Ash said she hopes to “put the financial framework in place to ensure that our Special Olympic event will have the financial stability, freedom and forward movement it requires, ensuring that it will continue for many years to come.”