CHAFFEE - Smoking could be snuffed out at the Chaffee public schools later this year.

The district's administration has recommended that the Board of Education consider the banning of smoking in district buildings as of the start of the district's new year July 1. Along with that, the administration is recommending that the practice of allowing smoking in the gym lobby be discontinued then also.

The administration made the recommendations to the school board at its January meeting last week.

District Superintendent Wayne Pressley said it is not definite that smoking will be banned in the district.

"We don't have any policy developed on that; we're just in the stage of looking at it to bring recommendations back to the board." he said.

Pressley said he guessed that more and more schools are moving to smoke-free policies for "the health and safety of the students. Other institutions are also making the move, he said, noting that Cape Girardeau's two hospitals did so on Jan. 1.

It is hoped the administration could get back with the board on the issue in February, he said.

In other business, the board:

Adopted the calender for the 1992-1993 school year. The first day of classes will be Aug. 24, Pressley said, and the last day will be May 26.

Approved the district's response to the Missouri School Improvement Review Report. The report consists of a plan to address nine ares of concern identified in a district review. Pressley said a team from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education conducted the review in October 1990.

The district has taken care of some of the areas already. Pressley said those areas involve board adoption of a policy regarding the review of curriculum and library resource materials; job descriptions for staff members; and the development of a nutrition plan.

The school board approved the nutrition plan at its meeting. The plan, which is something most schools don't have, covers efforts to make the cafeteria and food service more economical and efficient to having assistance with nutrition lessons in class, Pressley said.

According to the district, the state's area supervisor of instruction, Dan Talent, indicated that over the next two or three years, should the evaluation criteria continue to improve, the district may be able to receive a higher rating.

The district is now rated AA. A determination regarding the district's classification under a new system should be rendered sometime this spring, the district reported.