The Tarkio R-I Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in the central office of the Tarkio R-I School District. The meeting was called to order by board president Sam Hannah. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, the agenda was approved as presented. Board members present were Brooke Vette, Amy Hurst, Raymond Gebhards, Jamie Barnett, Josh Wright, and Corey Martin. Prior to the consent agenda, Tarkio R-I Superintendent Mr. Bob Heddinger presented the board members with certificates of appreciation for School Board Appreciation Month.

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

• The minutes from the February 19, 2025, regular and closed session meetings

• Transfer of funds to pay certified teachers

• Personnel – The addition of Garrett Alsup as a substitute teacher for the 2024-25 school year and the resignations of Mrs. Cassie Steele (elementary teacher), Mrs. Madison Cotton (high school history teacher and junior high volleyball coach), Devin Albertson (high school math teacher and girls’ basketball coach), and Kevin Dodson (high school math and business teacher and boys’ basketball coach). All of these resignations are effective at the conclusion of the 2024-25 school year.

• Program evaluation for the district assessment program was presented to the board.

• Overnight trips for State FFA, State FBLA, State Music Festival, and senior trip

• Memorandum of understanding between the Tarkio R-I School District and The Atchison County Health Department

• Contracts for counseling services with Hallelujah Counseling and Hope N Reigns Counseling

• Food service agreement with Opaa! for the 2025-26 school year

• Salary schedule and contract stipulations for the 2025-26 school year. Mr. Heddinger did point out that the salary schedule that was approved reflects the current year’s salary schedule and that a revised salary schedule with raises will be brought to the board for consideration in May at the earliest. This process allows for this budget year to be nearly completed and the state’s budget to be finalized, thus giving the best outlook on the overall financial picture. This will allow the district to maximize raises available for the salary schedule.

The financial reports were presented and the board approved the bills for the month. A three-year utility report was provided. The MOCAAT accounts have a combined $109,520.22 in interest earnings through February 28, 2025, on the reserve balances the district has invested with MOCAAT since July 1, 2024. Mr. Heddinger did highlight that this is the time of year that the school makes their annual principal and interest payments on the two lease purchase agreements the district has on the TAC (2018) = $248,326 and HS Renovation Project (2023) = $229,900.

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

Administration Reports

Tarkio Elementary Principal and Tarkio R-I Assistant Superintendent Mr. Dustin Barnes submitted an elementary report. Overall enrollment for the building is 145 students. Overall attendance for the year sits at 95.45%. Preschool enrollment currently sits at 20 students with a current waiting list of six. Screenings took place Wednesday, March 12, and Friday, March 14. Mr. Barnes thanked Mrs. Jayne Martin, Mrs. Courtney Harms, Mrs. Kaitlyn Dunkin, Mrs. Courtney Driskell, Mrs. Meghan Hughes and Mrs. Shannon Bruns for their work on the screenings. Grade cards were sent home on Thursday, March 13. The book fair took place the week of March 3rd. Libarian Mrs. Dallas Prather reported the school made $6,366.98. Elementary Lit Night took place March 6 and was well attended. Ms. Renee Hull was thanked for setting this up. The third quarter assembly took place March 13. Students were honored for A.R. and sight word recognition, as well as character education traits and MAP  proficiency.  Preparations  are be-ing made for MAP testing in the elementary building. Mrs. Maria Spire was thanked for running this. Elementary classrooms are scheduling their end-of-the-year field trips. Plans for a summer enrichment program are being finalized. Curriculum purchase requests for both buildings are being submitted. There will be an early dismissal March 20 for spring break. PD will meet on March 24.

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 benchmark information was shared with the board and show a tremendous increase over the mid-year benchmarks. March 18 is ACDC 8th grade career day. Tarkio Tech career day for sophomores is March 19. ACDC job shadow day for juniors is March 26. Seniors career fair at Maryville is March 27. Tentative schedules are being worked out with the students. Mr. Petersen is in the process of interviewing candidates for different positions in the building. Currently, the school is looking for math, social studies, P.E., at risk and business teachers. The District Band and Solo/Ensemble competition was held March 14. Ten individuals qualified for state competition. District FFA takes place April 1 and 2. State FCCLA was held March 16-18. Ms. Dara Whipple took four individuals. Three competed and all earned a gold rating with one placing third in State. State FBLA takes place April 13-15. Five individuals will be headed to State. The senior class trip will be May 4 and 5 in Kansas City.

Tarkio R-I Superintendent Mr. Bob Heddinger gave his report. This month the focus of the MSBA video was around the impact a government shutdown would have on the federal monies school districts receive. March is School Board Appreciation Month. An update on the current number of days missed to weather and the implementation of AMI days was provided. Since the February board meeting, the school has utilized two AMI days on February 20 and March 5, as well as an early dismissal on March 19. This leaves the district sitting at 1,051.25 hours if no more school is missed the remainder of the year. The state requires 1,044 hours of attendance, so the district still has a few hours to spare. A building and grounds update was given. An insurance claim has been filed to cover the damage from the flooding that occurred in the preschool. Repairs are underway and new cabinets and flooring have been ordered. The Facilities Committee met for the final time on March 17” Mr. Dustin Lambertsen is working on the shot put area. Mr. Heddinger is still waiting to hear back from a local vendor on a second fencing bid to fix, replace, and/or install new fencing around the district property. The General Assembly is currently on spring break. The latest legislative news deals with the passage of HB 711 (last week). This is the Open Enrollment Bill and it was passed (for the fifth year in a row) by a vote of 88-69. The next step in the process is the bill will move to the Senate where the Senate has the option to vote on it as it stands and if that happens Missouri will have open enrollment. The more likely option is the bill will go through changes and the Senate will add all kinds of language and special provisions to it. In that case the bill will need to go back to the House. The next eight weeks will be interesting. The Supplemental Spending Bill passed and Governor Kehoe signed it. This impacts the Tarkio R-I School District directly in the form of an additional $125,000 (approximately) under the Small School Grant. The school should see the first of this money in April. One other bill to pay attention to is SB 360 (this is a good one and needs our support). SB 360 details The Assessment and Accreditation System and how it is designed to change how schools are accredited by removing the testing piece as the primary driver for school’s accreditation. Mr. Heddinger, working with Mr. Barnes, was able to find a used 10-passenger van to purchase for the school. This vehicle is a 2022 Ford with 22,000 miles on it and will be arriving from California in the coming weeks. A Salary and Welfare Committee meeting was scheduled for March 19 with the support staff to outline the plans for salaries and benefits for the next year but was postponed until next week because of the early dismissal of school due to the weather.

Mr. Heddinger shared the agenda items for the April school board meeting with the board. The list of items includes:

• Food service contract (review yearly – renews 2028)

• Swear in new board members/recognize outgoing member (if necessary)

• Elect board officers, board secretary, and treasurer

• Approve election results, board member training plans (if necessary), summer school, and support staff evaluations

• Discuss legislative report and end-of-year dinner for staff

• Set support staff work schedules

• Discuss board policy update recommendations by Policy Service (MCE)

• Review health insurance (take bids as needed)(adjust cap)

• Program evaluation – Co-curricular/extra-curricular, extended learning time, alternative delivery systems, and Career Ladder.

Old Business

CSIP Review Focus Area #2 – Mr. Barnes gave a summary report on the area of viable curriculum aligned to Missouri Learning Standards.

Mr. Heddinger presented the finalized Building and Grounds Plan for board approval. Mr. Heddinger thanked everyone who participated in the process in helping to get to this point. This document outlines the main areas of focus with respect to the facility needs and wants for the district for the next five to seven years. The board approved the Building and Grounds Plan as presented.

Mr. Barnes gathered the co-op information from the board to finalize the key talking points to take forward to the co-op board when it is time to negotiate the next coop agreement. The current co-op agreement runs through 2025-26.

New Business

Mr. Barnes shared that he has been speaking with the president of the Tarkio Golf Course Board about the agreement for this year. Right now, the school is waiting to hear back from them.

Mr. Heddinger pointed out that there is only one policy change that needs action: Policy 5550 – Meal Charges is being modified to include language that prioritizes the purchase of commodities grown and/or processed in the U.S. The board approved the change of Policy 5550 based on MCE recommendations by a vote of 7-0.

The meeting moved to closed session at 8:15 p.m. where personnel matters were discussed. Closed session ended and regular open session resumed at 9:15 p.m.

In open session, a motion was made by Josh Wright and seconded by Raymond Gebhards to offer the Non-Tenured Staff List #1 contracts for the 2025-26 school year. The motion passed 7-0. Josh Wright made another motion that was seconded by Raymond Gebhards to offer Non-Tenured Staff List #2 contracts for the 2025-26 school year. The motion passed 6-0. Brooke Vette abstained. Josh Wright made a third motion that was seconded by Raymond Gebhards to offer Non-Tenured Staff List #3 contracts for the 2025-26 school year. The motion passed 5-0. Sam Hannah and Jamie Barnett abstained. Josh Wright made another motion that was seconded by Raymond Gebhards to offer teaching contracts to Crystal Moore and Lane Zembles for the 2025-26 school year. The motion passed 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 p.m.