A split Sedalia school board went forward with a motion to allow a program to present information to students about becoming an organ donor.

By a 4-3 vote at Monday night’s meeting, Sedalia’s Board of Education voted to go forward with incorporating the program into the district’s curriculum. Superintendent Dr Todd Fraley says the vote came after an organization made a request to the district seeking its inclusion.

Fraley notes that the board disagreed over whose responsibility it is to inform students about organ donation.

School board member Brad Grupe joined president Diana Nichols and secretary Barbara Schrader in opposing the motion. Vice president Sam Kempton and board members Dr Cara Barth-Fagan, Scott Gardner, and Pam Moon were in support. Superintendent Fraley says he’ll visit with administrators and curriculum writers to determine the best manner for students to learn about organ donation. By law, the school board must also approve the updated curriculum before students receive any information about organ donation in a classroom setting.

Also at Monday’s meeting the Sedalia School Board approved updates to the elementary and secondary curriculum, and accepted bids for tuck-pointing at three buildings and roof replacement projects at a pair of schools. The board also set the tax rate for 2024 at $4.0628 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, unchanged from the previous year.