The Tarkio R-I Board of Education held their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by board vice-president Josh Wright. The agenda was approved as presented. The board members present were Brooke Vette, Amy Hurst, Raymond Gebhards, Jamie Barnett, and Corey Martin.

The consent agenda was approved and included the following items: The minutes from the December 18, 2024, regular and closed session meetings; transfer of funds to pay certified teachers; and the addition of Ms. Alex Barnett as a substitute teacher for the 2024-25 school year. Program evaluation for maintenance, cleaning, facility and grounds planning was presented to the board.

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. The MOCAAT accounts have a combined $86,479.94 in interest earnings through December 31, 2024, on the reserve balances the district has invested with MOCAAT since July 1, 2024.

The TAC report for the month of January was presented. Mrs. Blu Dow submitted the CTA report for January. Mrs. Joey Stevens submitted a food service report that showed the number of breakfasts and lunches served in December.

Administration Reports

Tarkio Elementary Principal and Tarkio R-I Assistant Superintendent Mr. Dustin Barnes submitted an elementary report. Overall enrollment for the building is 149 students. School was back in session on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. During the PD day on January 3, the elementary dissected MAP, school climate and APR data. The second quarter PBS, A.R. and Character Strong assembly was held Friday, January 10. Tarkio Elementary School will be having a school-wide “Read Across The Elementary” event on January 21. The school will all be reading the same book across all grade levels. Each student will receive a book to take home and read with their parents as well. Music teacher Mrs. Melody Barnett is preparing the third grade class for the annual parachute routine on February 6. In addition, teacher Ms. Whitney Harrington is hosting a combined Fairfax/Tarkio Little Dribblers Basketball program that will also have a show at halftime on February 6. Assessment process for the gifted program is continuing to move along. The elementary third, fourth and fifth grade students are starting LUMOS assessments the week of January 13. On Monday, January 27, the DCI team will be here to support the elementary building and their use of Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports associated with PBIS. Erica Taylor, Deyton Thomson, Kara Vette, Whitney Harrington, Baylee Ray, Markie Sundermann and Kadie Howard will all be attending LETRS Trainings this next month. Tarkio Elementary School will host a Family Game Night on February 5. The PD Committee, led by guidance counselor Mrs. Maria Spire, is currently working on reviewing the Staff PD Survey which was given last spring. Another survey will be given to the staff in February.

Tarkio High School Principal Mr. Terry Petersen submitted a junior high and high school report. Enrollment numbers are 89 in the middle school and 92 in the high school. Star testing results for December were shared with the board. Reading and Math Tier 2 supports are being modified in the junior high levels to include a reading intervention hour. The building is currently in the process of getting students set up to access the MIT’s, Missouri Instructional Teslets from DESE to help identify specific MAP related areas for instructional support and Tier 1 instruction. The middle school will be working with grades 6-8 on a HOPS (Homework, Organization and Planning Skills) program. High school staff will meet with the DCI consultants on January 27 to determine secondary behavioral norms. Junior High Academic Bowl competition has started. FCCLA Star Events took place on January 15 and Brody Wennihan, Star Hankins, and Sydnee Bruns all qualified for State. Brody also ran for regional officer and will be the 2025-26 Regional Vice-President of Devotion. The FFA State Degree review process begins January 15. Twenty FFA members started preparing for contests. Varsity basketball teams are participating in the 93rd Annual Fairfax Invitational Basketball Tournament. Four-State Honor Band will take place on January 18. Abbie Harms and Alyson Wooten are participating. The FFA Fish Fry takes place February 2. Homecoming week will take place the week of February 3. Atchison County Band Day will be held at Rock Port on February 3.

Tarkio R-I Superintendent Mr. Bob Heddinger gave his report:

• MSBA Video Summary – The message for January was focused on Crisis Planning and Management. MSBA and The Center for Education Safety (CES) sponsored an event on December 5 and 6 that focused on the importance of continuously monitoring school safety.

• Board Elections – Incumbents Ms. Brooke Vette and Mr. Jamie Barnett were the only two to sign up for the open board seats. As a result, there will be no need for a board election on April 8, 2025.

• School Cancellation – School was canceled on January 6, 2025, due to weather. There are no plans to make up this day currently. The school calendar has 48.3 hours extra instruction built into it to offer the flexibility to not have to make up for some missed days.

• Building and Grounds Update – Mr. Heddinger, Mr. Barnes, and Mr. Joesting met with Mr. Paul Bishop on December 19, 2024, to learn what Ameri Fence could do to help with the many fencing needs of the district. One of the two gym units was repaired during Christmas break. The other unit should be repaired by the end of this week or next at the latest. The recent plumbing issue in the lobby restrooms of the high school was investigated over Christmas break and it was determined to be a small piece of an old plumbing fixture that fell into the drain system. It appears that this issue will resolve itself provided the piece finishes moving through the system as expected. The recent snowstorm did provide the district with an opportunity to see how we would handle the snow removal on our own.

• Legislative Update – The General Assembly session began on January 8, 2025. MSBA has a legislative lobbyist that will begin hosting a weekly webinar legislative update. This will be a new source of information on legislative issues that may impact the district.

• Budget and County Commission – Mr. Heddinger shared that he has a meeting with John Rinehart of LJ Hart on January 21, 2025, to explore funding and refinancing options for future building projects. Mr. Heddinger and Mr. Barnes will be meeting with the Atchison County Assessor, Clerk, and County Commissioners on January 30, 2025, to learn more about wind farms and how they are assessed. Mr. Barnes and Mr. Heddinger recently watched a webinar on SB 727 and how the minimum teacher salary will impact the school for now and the near future.

• School Farm – The school has been told that they will be able to farm the area down by AgPartners for the 2025 year. The co-op managers have indicated that their board has “pumped the brakes” on all their land dealings for the short term. The hope is that something can be worked out by next fall on the school acquiring this land.

• Agenda Items for the February Board Meeting – Mr. Heddinger shared the agenda items for the February meeting with the board. The list of items includes: approval of the auditor (every three years) (2025); preliminary budget for 2025-26; review of bus contracts (every five years) (2025); school calendar final reading; legislative report; policy updates (as needed); grant approvals – FV4 and enhancement; graduate follow-up; and the program evaluation  – Library Media Centers.

Old Business

For the second reading of the 2025-26 school calendar, Mr. Heddinger shared that nothing has changed since the first reading in December. The final reading will be next month during the regular meeting February 19, 2025.

Mr. Barnes shared with the board members hard copies of the facilities plan at the December meeting. This month, the board was given an opportunity to provide additional input into the plan as presented. The Facilities Planning Committee will meet one more time to finalize the document. The administration will then present the finalized document to the board in either February or March for their approval.

Mr. Heddinger brought back the Learn Life Savers program item from the December meeting. The board has had the past month to consider the district’s position on this program. A motion was made by Mrs. Hurst and seconded by Ms. Vette to implement the Learn Life Savers program. The motion did not pass by a vote of 0-6. Mr. Heddinger will contact the Learn Life Savers Program Director to give the district’s response.

Mr. Barnes gave a summary report on the CSIP review focus area #4 of functional and safe facilities and environment.

New Business

Mr. Barnes gave a co-op evaluation summary to the board based on participation data, uniform rotation, and comments provided to him from board members, coaches, students, and administrators.

Mr. Heddinger gave a mid-year review of the 2024-25 budget. The overall budget has seen a few changes in both revenue and expenditures as of December 31, 2024. The revenues have seen an increase of $47,446, mostly due to the insurance reimbursement for the damages at the TAC from last spring. The expenditures have seen an increase/adjustment of $85,894, mostly due to the improvements to the school parking lots and some unexpected HVAC issues. The district is still on track to have a balance to carry forward for the 2024-25 school year of $576,830. The total reserves balances will be sitting at 50.63%, which is very strong for any school district. Board members voted unanimously to approve the mid-year budget review.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. The next Tarkio R-I Board of Education meetings will be at 7:00 p.m. February 19 and March 19, 2025, in the Superintendent’s office at Tarkio High School.