If you have been to Shell Knob School recently, you have probably noticed new medical equipment hanging on the wall at the top of the gym and next to the front office. This new equipment is a result of a grant written by Superintendent Dr. Chris Conyac. The grant was funded through a bill signed by Governor Mike Parsons in June of 2023. The bill was for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY2024) which appropriated $50 million in funding for a second round of School Safety Grants to support physical safety improvements in local education agencies (LEAs) and nonpublic schools (NPSs) across the state. The FY2024 School Safety Grant Program is a competitive grant which aims to support Missouri’s LEAs and NPS with valuable opportunities to improve their safety measures through physical safety upgrades. Shell Knob received a one year allocation of $42,000 that must be spent this school year.
The new medical equipment, referred to as Medical Emergency Cabinets include AED's (Automated External Defibrillators) plus medical responses for asthma, hypoglycemia, life threatening allergic reactions, opioid overdose and basic first aid. There is also a "Stop the Bleed" medical kit. This kit is sponsored by the American College of Surgeons and is the response to stopping the bleeding of a severely injured person. Statistics show that if the bleeding is not controlled within 5 minutes, an injured person can die. Last August, before school started, the SKS staff was trained on how to use the AED's and the Stop the Bleed kits.
Another new safety measure is giving all staff a radio that they carry while on campus. There are many more things to be done with the grant money, all of which enhance school safety. Most of the upgrades and training will take place over the summer.