HERMANN — The top administrators of Gasconade County R-1 and R-2 school districts will be asking for up-front money from the county’s CARES Act fund for equipment purchases — a move that, if approved, would break from the policy of awarding the money as a reimbursement for incurred expenses.

R-1 Superintendent Scott Smith Thursday night told the district’s Board of Directors that he and R-2 Superintendent Dr. Chuck Garner would be talking with officials of Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) soon about the possibility of receiving CARES Act money up-front, in part to finance the purchase of more than 100 Chromebook laptop computers that have been on order for the past couple months. The money might also be used to equip eight R-1 buses with Wi-Fi hotspot devices that could be placed throughout the district to enable students without Internet access at their homes to do work on their laptops after school hours or in the event of a shutdown of the campus, he said.

The district also has available several hotspot devices for students to use at home and more are expected to be acquired, he said.

Regarding the district’s efforts to operate within the confines of the coronavirus pandemic, Scott told the R-1 board that “we are spending a significant amount of money, but we are receiving a significant amount of money.”

Thus far, R-1, like other school districts and local government agencies, have applied for and received approval for reimbursement from the county’s CARES Act fund for money that had been spent on virus-related measures. The policy of using the $1.725-million fund allocated to Gasconade County holds that the money is dispensed as a reimbursement for local funds already spent.

MRPC is administering the county’s CARES Act money. After receiving requests for funding, MRPC staff checks the legitimacy of the expenses and then makes a recommendation to the County Commission, which has final authority on approving payment.

It wasn’t readily available how much money R-1 and R-2 will be seeking up-front, but Smith did say that the hotspot devices for the buses would cost about $2,500 each. Smith said he and Garner would be talking with MRPC “to propose our thoughts and see what we can work out.”

The joint effort by Smith and Garner was applauded Thursday morning by Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel, who met with them last Wednesday.

“I commended both of the superintendents — that they are working together. I’m really glad to see that happening,” Miskel said.

As Smith noted, R-1 is continuing to deal with the implications of the coronavirus daily, especially in taking measures to avoid the spread of the disease. He noted that it has been several weeks since more than 160 students were quarantined, even though the actual number of infected students and staff has been relatively low since the start of the school year —15 students and three teachers have tested positive since classes began Aug. 24. As of Thursday, there were 11 students in quarantine — two active cases and nine other students quarantined because of proximity to the infected students.

Constant reminders are necessary to keep students and staff safe, he said. “The students are learning you have to stay 6 feet apart,” the superintendent said.

In other matters, the school board heard that some students are still playing catchup from this spring when the district shut down for the fourth quarter. Responding to a director’s question, R-1 Curriculum Director Maranda Anderson said a tutoring program put in place is expected to bring students who are lagging up to speed. “There are some gaps” for some students as a result of missing the last quarter of classes, she said.

The directors also heard that administrators will be hosting a Coffee & Conversation event 9 a.m. Oct. 22 at Fernweh with district residents. “We’re going to be discussing what’s going on in the district,” Smith said.

Meanwhile, the newly formed Facilities Committee has started examining the needs of the various buildings, the superintendent said. The panel members started their review at the Hermann Elementary School and this week were scheduled to look at Hermann Middle School and Hermann High School.

The board gave its approval to a request by Hermann youth sports groups to use a school gym again at no charge. The district has never charged a fee to the youth groups, but because of the need to sanitize the gyms after each use, Smith proposed the board consider setting a $50 fee for each of the eight Saturdays the gym would be used, mostly to compensate for the cost of school personnel needed to disinfect the gym. “We’re going to be looking at overtime,” he said, with school personnel coming in on a weekend to work.

But while acknowledging the cost, directors were hesitant to impose a fee. “I would like to not have to do that,” said Board President Mark Brooks. The board agreed with that position.

The R-1 Alumni Association, marking its 10th anniversary this year, has amassed about $600,000 and will be making its initial scholarship award at the end of this year, noted Director Kevin Stiers. The money will go to a student who will work toward a teaching degree.

An effort is being made to recruit members for the Alumni Association. A district alum can obtain lifetime membership for one-time fee of $100, Stiers said.