(Board meeting notes submitted by Dustin Barnes)
The Tarkio R-I Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting Monday, April 15, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the Central Office of the Tarkio R-I School District. Members present were Garrett Wood, Brooke Vette, Amy Hurst, Raymond Gebhards, Sam Hannah, Jamie Barnett, and Josh Wright.
The current board was dissolved and newly elected board member Corey Martin and reelected board member Sam Hannah were each sworn in for three-year terms. Sam Hannah was elected board president. Josh Wright was elected board vice-president.
The consent agenda was approved, which included the following items:
• The minutes from the March 20 regular meeting and closed session meetings
• Transfer of funds to pay certified teachers
• Program evaluations for the Special Education Program, At-Risk Program, and the Talented and Gifted Program
• Hiring of Mrs. Aleesha Gibbons as a full-time custodian
• The FCCLA national trip to Seattle, Washington
• The extra duty pay schedule for 2024-25, with the base at $38,100 (this will be adjusted with the adoption of the new salary schedule in June)
• The graduation list for the class of 2024
• The Career Ladder Plan and list of participants for the 2024-25 school year.
The district financial reports were presented and the board approved the bills for the month. A three-year utility report was provided that showed continued decreases in the high school utility bills.
The TAC and CTA reports for the month of April were presented.
Administration Reports
Mr. Barnes reported on the following elementary, facility and technology updates:
• Attendance was 94.95% up to this point of the year.
• The elementary MAP schedule is completed and ready to go. Assessments are starting the week of April 29.
• The 5th grade TES students took field trips to WOW-TV in Omaha.
• The elementary classes have their end of year field trips organized and scheduled.
• The move up day will take place on May 15. The school will have new preschool students in the building and all current preschool-5th grade students will spend time in their classrooms for next year.
• The summer school theme has been confirmed. The Magic Of Learning will take place for three weeks starting the day after Memorial Day.
• The 4th and 5th grade music program took place on April 12.
• Elementary field day will take place Wednesday, May 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Tarkio Elementary track and field (behind the elementary building).
• Curriculum requests have been made and quotes are being finalized.
• Professional Development staff surveys have been conducted and the results have been shared with the PD Committee. The district will be working on PD opportunities for the next one to three years based on the results.
• District leadership teams will meet with RPDC to discuss the DCI surveys on May 22.
• Summer maintenance re-quests have been made and are being looked at. Some will take place this summer and some may need to be addressed longer term.
Mr. Dodson submitted a junior high and high school report which included the following information:
• The total junior high/high school enrollment is 162 students and overall attendance is 94.79%.
• Cooper Nuclear tour
• The high schools students are mentoring the elementary students weekly.
• The high school choir received a 1 rating.
• Juniors job shadowed
• Prom was held April 6
• Herzog gave a tour to students
• Internet safety presentation by Highway Patrol
• State FBLA and FFA
• FCCLA park clean up
• NHS senior luncheon
• State Music (April 26)
Mr. Heddinger reported on the following items:
• Spring activities are in full swing. The Scholar Bowl team placed third in conference. The Indian Relays for high school are this Friday. Junior High Indian Relays is next week. Tarkio is host for the junior high and high school Conference Track Meet April 30 at 12:30 p.m. Baseball is halfway through the season and currently stands 5-4. The boys’ golf team is doing well.
• Building and Grounds Update – Meeting with P1 to discuss an assessment on all HVAC units for the district. Once the assessment is completed, P1 would present to the district a maintenance plan with associated costs for P1 to be a partner in maintaining the units for the district. Nothing has been approved at this time, just a presentation and background information is being shared between the two parties. TLC Lawn Care has been on-site and completed the repairs to the sprinkler system on the football field, dirt work and seeding over the geothermal loop field (west of the high school gym), and the first of five applications on the school property. The geothermal rebate under the Inflation Reduction Act is progressing. Anticipate some projected numbers on what the district might see from the rebate in the coming weeks. A walk through of the facilities was completed by Mr. Barnes, Mr. Dodson, Mr. Joesting, and Mr. Heddinger the week of April 8. This is all part of the process to develop the summer work schedule and the beginning of a long-range building and grounds plan.
• DESE Update – DESE is rolling out changes to how MSIP 6 will be scored in the future. The three most notable changes involve CCR Assessment Data using the prior year graduates. LEA classifications will utilize a three-year composite score, and growth will be calculated like achievement status using quartiles. The summer school application has been submitted to DESE. The dates for summer school will be May 28 through June 14, 2024. The ESSER Year 4 data collection is due by April 26. Mr. Heddinger and Mrs. Hogue will be working to complete this submission prior to the deadline.
• Welfare and Benefits Committee – Mr. Heddinger met with the committee on April 8 and 9 to discuss the two insurance options available to the district. Option 1 would be to stay with current provider MEUHP or Option 2 go with Missouri Educators Trust (MET). After discussion, it was agreed by the committee members that MET was the better option.
• Legislative Update – The main topic is SB 727 Voucher Program and all the amendments that have been added to this single bill. This bill has passed the Senate and is now working its way through the House. SB 190 Senior Citizen Property Tax Freeze that passed last year is in the conversation again. Many counties refused to act on SB 190 because of the vague language and guidance. The General Assembly is working to correct this will SB 756 and/or HB 2432. If these pass and Atchison County decides to adopt this into practice, there will be a financial impact on our local communities and schools.
• MOSIS and Core Data Submissions – The April student core file was submitted on time.
• Preliminary Budget – The preliminary budget for 2024-25 continues to be a work in progress. Once the staff is in place for 2024-25, Mr. Heddinger will be able to complete the rest of the budget. This final preliminary budget will be presented to the board at the June meeting.
• Agenda items for the May board meetings – Mr. Heddinger shared the agenda items for the May meeting with the board. These include the Tarkio Tech contract, program evaluations of curriculum, career ladder, PAT, early childhood, and facilities and safety.
The board heard a presentation about MOCAAT from Dr. John Jungmann, Vice-President for MOCAAT. This was tabled from the March meeting so that Mr. Heddinger could arrange for a presentation to better explain how MOCAAT works and why it would be a good option for the district. The board approved the resolution 7-0 to enter into an agreement with MOCAAT.
The contract with the Tarkio Golf Course was brought back to the board from last month’s meeting for discussion and approval. Mr. Barnes shared the two options that the golf course board gave the school to pick from. Option 1 was the same as it has always been at a rate of $6,000 or Option 2 that removed the option of free golf for Tarkio students and a few other perks at a rate of $3,000. The board approved Option 1 by a vote of 6-0-1. Mr. Barnett abstained.
Mr. Barnes gave his monthly presentation of the CSIP to the board. This month the topic was effective teaching and learning.
Mr. Heddinger presented the insurance renewal information provided by MEUHP (current provider). Mr. Heddinger then gave a presentation comparing the plan and rates between MEUHP and MET. Overall, the plans are very similar in nature. The main difference between the two providers is that MET does not use a tier system to determine renewal rate increases and MEUHP does. This makes budgeting easier when it can be anticipated that rates will increase a set amount each year. MET also offers the opportunity to lower your rates in the first one to five years. Mr. Heddinger made the recommendation to not renew with MEUHP and go with MET for the insurance provider for the Tarkio R-I School District for the 2024-25 school year. The board approved this action by a vote of 7-0.
Mr. Barnes shared with the board information related to a request to have a Tarkio College record board placed in the Tarkio Activities Center (TAC). This was only for discussion and information purposes at this time.
The board approved the contract agreement for the 2024-25 school year with NLS Services. This is a service for students that have a visual impairment. NLS Services has been servicing the district for several years. The board voted 7-0.
The board met in closed session to discuss non-certified evaluations and to discuss coach-ing evaluations. The board voted to approve the extracurricular activities sponsors and coaches for the 2024-25 school year. The board voted to exit the executive session at 9:55 p.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:56 p.m.
The Tarkio R-I Board of Education met on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 7:00 a.m. in a special session. The meeting came to order at 7:00 a.m. . The board voted 7-0 to approve the consent agenda and to approve the hiring of Mr. Terry Petersen as Tarkio R-I 6-12 Principal for the 2024-2025 school year. The board adjourned at 7:02 a.m.
The next regular meeting of the Tarkio R-I Board of Education will be May 15, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the Superintendent’s office at Tarkio High School.
