Submitted by Bob Heddinger, Superintendent

The Tarkio R-I Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the Central Office of the Tarkio R-I School District. Board members present were Brooke Vette, Amy Hurst, Raymond Gebhards, Sam Hannah, Jamie Barnett, Josh Wright, and Corey Martin.

Board President Sam Hannah called the tax rate hearing to order. Mr. Heddinger presented the board with an assessed valuation comparison from 2023 to 2024. The comparison showed that the assessed valuation (AV) for the district increased from $102,312,648 in 2023 to $105,117,699 in 2024. This represents a 2.7% year-over-year increase in AV for the district. Mr. Heddinger pointed out that when the 2024 adjusted AV and the tax levy of $3.8041 are applied to each other the district will realize an overall increase of approximately $106,707 in operating funds when compared to 2023 funds. Mr. Heddinger then presented two options to the board to consider when setting the tax rate for 2024.

• Option #1 – Set the tax rate at $3.8041 all to be applied to the Incidental Fund (Fund #1). This would generate $3,798,843 in local revenue for Tarkio R-I with a collection rate of 95%.

• Option #2 – Set the tax rate at $3.8041 to be split as follows, $2.8041 to be applied to the Incidental Fund (Fund #1), which would generate $2,800,225 and $1.0000 to be applied to Capital Projects (Fund #4), which would generate $998,618 in local revenue for Tarkio R-I with a collection rate of 95%

Mr. Heddinger indicated that Option #1 would allow the district to build up the reserve balance in Fund #1. While Option #2 would allow the district to continue to work on smaller capital projects and improvements while building up the Fund #4 balances to provide the option in the future to pay off the 2018 lease on the TAC early if the board wished to do so. The 2018 lease is scheduled to run through the spring of 2038 and has a call feature that can be used at any time going forward. After some discussion it was agreed to go with Option #2. The tax rate hearing was closed. Board President Sam Hannah then read the resolution and a motion to approve the tax rate was made and seconded. The resolution was adopted by a 7-0 vote.

The consent agenda was approved by a vote of 7-0 which included the following items:

• Approval of the minutes from the June 19 regular meeting and closed session meetings and transfer of funds to pay certified teachers

• Approval of the resignation of Mrs. Shelby Alsup and Mrs. Tasha Gronninger

• Approval of the hiring of Mrs. Taylor Pruett, Mrs. Brianna Shaw and Mrs. Crissy Drummond as special education paraprofessionals, Mr. Jake McKenney as a volunteer assistant high school football coach, Mr. Jason Brown as a volunteer assistant high school wrestling coach, and Mr. Garrett Alsup as an assistant junior high football coach

• Approval of a contract with Hope N Reigns Counseling for the 2024-25 school year and a contract with Hallelujah Counseling for the 2024-25 school year

• Set the tuition cost for the 2024-25 school year at $4,500 for the first child and an additional $250 for each child after

• Approving Mrs. Marisa Hedlund as the Homeless Coordinator, Mrs. Kari Taylor as the Federal Programs Coordinator, and Mr. Bob Heddinger as the Section 504 and Title IX Coordinators

• The approval of Policy and Regulation 1300, the Student Transportation Plan – Policy 5620, and the Nepotism, Conflict of Interest, & Financial Disclosure – Policy and Regulation 0342

• Review and make updates to the following policies and regulations: P&R 2260 Homeless Students, P&R 2270 Migrant Students, P&R 2760 Students in Foster Care, P&R 6180 English Language Learner, P&R 6320 Internet Usage, Substitute List for 2024-25, the District Financial Statement for 2023-2024 published by September 1, 2024, at 7:00 p.m.

The district financial reports were presented for the month 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. Mr. Heddinger did point out several bills that are related to the start of school and are not part of the normal monthly bills.

There were no public comments during the public time of the meeting. The TAC report for the month of July/August was presented. Mr. Heddinger shared with the board a letter from DESE that indicated the district’s Special Education Department met all requirements for the 2023-2024 school year. Congratulations to Mrs. Taylor and her staff on this significant recognition! Mr. Heddinger also shared DESE has approved the AMI Plan for the upcoming school year. This plan gives the district the option to have remote learning in the event of a weather cancelation. The report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol on the spring bus inspections was shared with the board. The results from the Get the Lead Out testing was presented. The results show that all areas of concern have been remediated.

Administration Reports

Tarkio Elementary Principal and Assistant Superintendent Mr. Dustin Barnes reported on the following elementary, facility and technology updates:

• Online registration was held in the elementary on August 8. The school implemented the online registration option this year for some of the documents.

• Preliminary enrollment is 139 students in preschool through 5th grade.

• Work days for the staff were held on August 15, 16, 19, and 20. Back-to-School Night was held on August 19. The first day of school was held on Wednesday, August 21, as a full day.

• The elementary focus and priorities in the elementary this year include PBIS Tier 2 supports, analyzing the school’s assessment and item analysis reports, curriculum revisions, literacy and character strong curriculum that the school district is incorporating this year. Tarkio’s teachers went to Character Strong training at Mozingo on Friday, August 16.

• The leadership team met on August 15 and reviewed the school’s CSIP as well as focus areas for the 2024-2025 school year.

Tarkio High School Principal Mr. Terry Petersen submitted a junior high and high school report which included the following information:

• Preliminary junior high enrollment is 82 and preliminary high school enrollment is 92.

• Brody Wennihan attended the National FCCLA Leadership Conference where he competed in the public policy advocacy star event and earned a silver medal.

• Tarkio FFA members at-tended the Missouri State Fair. Recognitions included: Keely Bredensteiner – Reserve Grand Champion and 4th in class; Kamryn Brown – three 2nd in class, one 3rd in class, one 5th in class, and two 6th in class; and Quin Staten – 3rd in class and three 5th in class.

• Weight lifting, team camps and competitions have been completed and fall sports practices have begun.

• The leadership team met on August 15 and reviewed the school’s CSIP Plan, as well as discussed future items: curriculum development, Star testing schedule, and new cell phone policy for junior high.

• Registration and the open house were a success. The staff seems eager and ready for the new year.

Superintendent Mr. Bob Heddinger gave the following report.

• MSBA Summary – Registration is open for the MSBA Fall Conference scheduled for October 17-19 in Kansas City. Artificial Intelligence is becoming a more discussed topic in the field of education. There is a symposium scheduled prior to the MSBA Fall Conference where this topic will be discussed further.

• Building and Grounds Update – The Geothermal rebate is in a holding pattern while Veregy continues to work with vendors to get the necessary documentation to demonstrate domestic content – which would be an additional 10% on the rebate. A special thank you goes out to the entire custodial and maintenance staff for all their hard work this past summer getting the facilities in great condition and ready for the first day of school.

• The freezer project is near completion despite several set-backs.

• MOSIS and Core Data Sub-missions – The August Core Data submission is delayed because of changes made by DESE. There is no timeline of when this will be ready to be submitted.

• Agenda Items for the September Board Meeting – Agenda items for the September meeting include the approval of the assessment plan, Special Education Program application review, board policy updates (if applicable), enrollment update, approval of the final budget for 2024-25, program evaluations, CSIP review and update, and testing data (if available).

Mr. Barnes shared an update on the district CSIP.

Mr. Heddinger shared the summer activity payment list by sport/activity with the board. The payment total for this past summer was $19,875 with a total of 795 hours of camps, shootouts, weightlifting, and other activities covered by these numbers.

Mr. Heddinger shared with the board that he was not finished preparing the 2024-25 budget and will table this item for the September meeting.

Mr. Heddinger shared that the State Special Education Compliance Plan is not ready to be presented for the board to approve at this time. DESE is currently revising the State Plan and once it is completed and approved by the State Board of Education, Mr. Heddinger will bring it to the Tarkio R-I Board for approval.

Mr. Heddinger shared that the Seclusion and Restraint Plan is not ready to be presented for the board to approve at this time. The plan is included within the State Special Education Compliance Plan and will be approved at the same time the State Plan is approved.

Mr. Barnes shared information regarding the baseball field and possible improvements.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. The next two Tarkio R-I Board of Education meetings will be held Wednesday, September 18, 2024, and Wednesday, October 16, 2024. Both meetings will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Superintendent’s office at Tarkio High School.