JOPLIN, Mo. — Winter weather means there’s not much happening at Joplin Schools today – but there are big plans for improvements in the coming year.

The Board of Education has approved spending more than $5-million on a list of projects for 2022 – 2023. That’s everything from a modifications at Irving Elementary School to new flooring and HVAC systems at North Middle School and East Middle School.

The district plans to spend nearly $300,000 on new school busses – part of a yearly rotation.

“We’re very careful with our capital outlay budget and we set aside money each year to maintain our buildings. We have our major systems on rotation cycles, and we know how many buses per year to keep our bus fleet strong and whatnot. What’s dangerous for the district as you when you put off maintenance and then you have a lot of deferred maintenance,” said Dr. Melinda Moss, Joplin Schools Supt.