The Poplarville School District’s Board of Trustees approved the purchase of a new school bus for $85,750 during Monday’s meeting.

Typically the Board purchases school buses at the end of the school year, said Board President Tommy Strahan. However, school bus prices are expected to go up four percent, said Transportation Director Rossie Creel, so purchasing a bus now means the District will not have to a pay a higher price later. The bus will have air conditioning and will be purchased from Blue Bird Corporation, Merritt said.

The Board also approved updates to all District handbooks, including the Crisis Management Handbooks.

The Crisis Management Handbooks have to be updated annually because the Legislature passes laws that may add or delete information from the handbook, said Superintendent Carl Merritt.

In other business, the Board received a District Health end of year report. The health report was fairly typical compared to other school years, although ADHD cases in the District are on the rise.

The Board also heard a Middle School of Poplarville accountability progress presentation, that stated 140 students in the bottom quartile have been individually scheduled to tutoring groups based on their needs rather than grade level.

In other business the Board:

—Approved a K-3 literacy screener grant award from the state, which will reimburse the District for literacy screening.