The Tarkio R-I Board of Education held the regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the central office of the Tarkio R-I School District. Board members present were Garrett Wood, Brooke Vette, Amy Hurst, Raymond Gebhards, Sam Hannah, Jamie Barnett, and Josh Wright.

The consent agenda was approved, which included the following items: The minutes from the December 20 regular meeting and closed session meetings, transfer of funds to pay certified teachers, donations from the Erickson family and the Rotary Club, evaluation of the district food service program, renewal of a contract with Meyer Insight, LLC, and the addition of Mrs. Gracie Mobley as a substitute teacher.

The district financial reports were presented for the month and the board approved the bills for the month.

No public comments were made. Mrs. Parshall provided a written TAC report. The limited number of days that school has been in session since returning from Christmas break did not permit an adequate time for the CTA to submit a report. A full report will be available at the February meeting.

Administration Reports

Mr. Barnes reported on the following elementary, facility and technology updates:

• Staff had a PD Day on January 3. Elementary staff dissected building APR scores along with reading and math STAR data. The second quarter A.R. and PBIS assembly has been moved to Wednesday, January 24. Data teams and the DCI process meeting were cancelled due to the snow and have been rescheduled for January 30. They are preparing to implement the Crisis Go App district wide on January 29. The Atchison County Spelling Bee will take place on February 13 in Tarkio. The elementary parachute routine will take place at the East Atchison basketball games at the TAC on Friday, February 9 (games begin at 6:00 p.m.). They are preparing to work on the daily schedules and calendars for next year.

Mr. Dodson went through his written report for junior high and high school. Highlights included: 

• Total JH/HS enrollment is 163 students. The Junior High Scholar Bowl Team won two out of three matches at their first meet. The cancellation of the Fairfax Basketball Tournament was due to the weather. The Plattsburg wrestling meets were cancelled due to the weather. There is a home wrestling quad meet scheduled for Thursday, January 18. The junior high grapplers start practice this week. The Tarkio High School Scholar Bowl season will begin soon. NWEA mid-year assessments had to be postponed until the week of January 15. The data teams had their respective meetings with the NWRPDC on January 5. Report cards have been mailed out as of this report.

Mr. Heddinger reported on the following items:

• MSBA Update – Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the next change coming to education. Advocacy Day in Jefferson City is April 9, 2024. The building and grounds update included the ceiling in the weight room has been adjusted and when the weather permits the final move of the weight room will be completed. The window blind project has been completed. The new HVAC system performed as designed during the recent cold spell. The junior high wing had some issues with staying warm. They are still investigating why this is the case. There was nothing significant to report at this time on the DESE update.The 2023-24 calendar and make-up day options were discussed. It was explained that at this time, the district needs to make up 20.22 hours or approximately four days. Administration is going to look at possible alternatives for making up the missing hours and will discuss options with staff prior to bringing back to the board for consideration. There are several bills moving through the education committees in the legislature that are not friendly to public schools: HB 1989 – Open enrollment, SB 727 – Voucher expansion statewide, SB 729 – Tax credit for non-public schools, and SB 804 – Student growth as part of a district’s APR report. Preparations are being made for the February MOSIS and Core Data submissions. The safety drills update included the second round of testing of the Crisis Go App by the administration, which was completed on January 17. The app is ready to roll out to the staff on January 29 during the scheduled PD Day. There will be two board terms up for election on April 2, 2024. Garrett Wood’s and Sam Hannah’s terms are set to expire. Four individuals have signed up for the board election. They are Sam Hannah, TJ Slemp, James Navin Jr., and Corey Martin. Mr. Heddinger shared the agenda items for the February board meeting with the members. These include the second reading of the 2024-25 school calendar, principal evaluations, program evaluation, and graduate follow-up.

Mr. Barnes presented the Board with an updated Facilities Use Agreement Policy and Regulation 1420. This presentation was to work out the final details of this policy/regulation before making any final recommendation prior to board approval. It is anticipated that this will be brought back to the board in February for final approval.

Mr. Barnes led a discussion over the baseball field contract between the City of Tarkio and the Tarkio R-I School District. Mr. Barnes shared several documents detailing the cost associated with this arrangement. No action was taken during this meeting.

The board approved the teacher evaluation documents as presented by Mr. Barnes.

The board listened to the first reading of the school calendar for the 2024-25 school year. Highlights for this calendar include a school start date of August 21 and last day of May 15. This proposed calendar was one of three presented to the staff and voted on by the staff.

Mr. Barnes shared with the board an overview of the district CSIP. This will become a standard item to be reviewed monthly with the board. 

Mr. Heddinger presented the board with a mid-year budget review. While the overall budget is very similar to the original budget approved in September, Mr. Heddinger pointed out a few adjustments. Anticipated revenue totals currently are $8,626,660, which is $119,239 more than the original budget. Anticipated expenditure totals currently are $11,524,414, which is $8,720 more than the original budget. These adjustments bring the total budget deficit down from the original amount of $3,008,373 to $2,897,854. After discussion, the board approved the mid-year budget 7-0. 

The board met in closed session to complete the evaluation of the superintendent and assistant superintendent. The meeting adjourned at 9:24 p.m.

The next Board of Education meeting will take place February 21, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the superintendent’s office.