Tarkio R-I Board of Education members Brooke Vette, back right, and Jamie Barnett, front right, are sworn in by board secretary Lanette Hogue, left. (Erica Taylor photo)
The Tarkio R-I Board of Education held the regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, April 16, 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. The agenda was approved as presented. The members present were Brooke Vette, Amy Hurst, Raymond Gebhards, Jamie Barnett, Josh Wright, and Corey Martin.
Board Reorganization – The following actions were taken: A motion was made by Amy Hurst and seconded by Jamie Barnett to dissolve the current Board of Education. The motion passed 7-0. The next order of business required incumbent members, Brooke Vette and Jamie Barnett, to be sworn in for new three-year terms. Superintendent Bob Heddinger served as moderator and asked for a nomination for board president. A motion was made by Amy Hurst and seconded by Corey Martin to nominate Josh Wright as board president. The vote was 7-0. Board president Josh Wright then took over the meeting and asked for a nomination for board vice-president. A motion was made by Brooke Vette and seconded by Corey Martin to nominate Jamie Barnett as board vice-president. The vote was 7-0. A motion was made by Amy Hurst and seconded by Brooke Vette to nominate Lanette Hogue and Michelle Navin as board secretary and treasurer respectively. The motion passed 7-0.
The consent agenda was approved by a vote of 7-0, which included the following items:
• The minutes from the March 19, 2025, regular and closed session meetings as well as the April 4, 2025, special meeting
• The transfer of funds to pay certified teachers,
• Under personnel, the board approved the resignations of Robin Augustine, Kadie Howard, Kaitlyn Dunkin, Whitney Harrington, and Nicole Williams, all effective at the conclusion of the 2024-25 school year. The board also approved the hiring of Mrs. Sheryl Patrick as a paraprofessional for the 2025-26 school year.
• Program evaluation for cocurricular/extra-curricular, extended learning time, and alternative delivery systems were tabled until the May meeting.
• Other items approved under the consent agenda included the 2025-26 extra duty salary schedule (based on the current $40,000 base salary), the Class of 2025 graduation list, the career ladder plan for 2025-26, and contracts with NLS Services & Meyer Insight for the 2025-26 school year.
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. The MOCAAT accounts have a combined $123,518.00 in interest earnings through March 31, 2025, on the reserve balances the district has invested with MOCAAT since July 1, 2024. Mr. Heddinger did point out several out of the ordinary expenses for this past month. They included: annual MSBA membership dues of $5,035, Servpro for preschool classroom repairs (insurance will reimburse the school), Master Transportation of $52,900 for the purchase of a used 10 passenger van for the school, new kitchen disposal at $1,675, and MSHSAA 2025-26 registration fee of $4,074.
There were no public comments during the public time of the meeting. Mrs. Nikki Parshall provided the TAC report for the month of April. Mrs. Blu Dow submitted the CTA report for April. Mrs. Joey Stevens submitted a food service report that showed the number of breakfasts and lunches served in March. The board received a letter from Mr. Sam Hannah.
Administration Reports
Tarkio Elementary Principal/Assistant Superintendent Mr. Dustin Barnes submitted an elementary report. Overall enrollment for the building is 145 students. Overall attendance for the year sits at 95.58%. The elementary is working hard at getting prepped for MAP testing. The theme for the year is “Cracking the Code to Proficiency.” MAP kickoff will occur on April 22 with MAP testing starting April 23. The Pancakes with Pals event took place April 17. Over 200 people registered to attend a breakfast with children. Move-up day will occur on May 5. Plans for the summer enrichment program have been getting ironed out. Summer enrichment will run from May 19 to June 6. The school has programs set up from the University of Missouri Extension, NWMSU and students will be taking a field trip to Imagine U. Elementary field day will occur on May 2. The last day of school is scheduled for May 15. They are working on collecting curriculum requests, furniture and room requests and maintenance requests for the summer and for the next school year. Plans are being made to move the technology room this summer in an effort to create an academic at-risk classroom in the junior high wing. The PD Committee is working on the 2025-2026 professional development plan for next year and has looked over the PD survey results. Curriculum Camp will be offered after school is out to any teacher wanting to spend time aligning and working on their curriculum.
Tarkio High School Principal Mr. Terry Petersen submitted a junior high and high school report. Enrollment numbers are 89 in the middle school and 89 in the high school. Teachers are busy with MAP test preparation utilizing MAP and EOC tests and testlets. Laptops have been checked for test readiness and a testing assembly will occur soon. MAP and EOC testing start in the middle school and high school the week of April 28. State FBLA leadership attendees returned from Springfield after a conference on the 13th and 14th. There are 12 State FFA qualifiers heading to Columbia on April 23. State Band qualifiers will be at Columbia on May 2. Senior Awards Day has been moved to May 8. Graduation practice will occur on May 9 and commencement will take place in the Tarkio High School Gym on May 11. High School Scholar Bowl finished a successful season and participated in the district tournament. Track, baseball and golf teams are midway through busy seasons. The last day of school will occur on May 15.
Mr. Heddinger gave his superintendent’s report. This month, Commissioner of Education Enslinger gave an update on several improvements that are being seen across the state of Missouri with respect to education. There is an increase in teacher retention, higher student attendance, and participation in preparatory programs is on the rise. The commissioner went on to remind school districts to “Get Loud” in celebrating the accomplishments and achievements of your schools, teachers, students, and communities. The TLC Lawn Care crew has been by to aerate and overseed the football and baseball fields, as well as install a new sprinkler system control box. Mr. Bill Joesting and Mr. Heddinger are actively seeking bids for fencing, concrete work, and roofing on the elementary for summer projects. A comprehensive list of summer projects was shared with the board. This list included the following items: demolition of the crow’s nest on the north side of the football field (safety concerns); sidewalk repairs and additions; fence repairs and additions; roof on part of the elementary building; construction of a closet in the central office for storage; final renovation of the new tech room (off of the superintendent’s office); final updates and renovations to the old tech room; complete the repairs to the preschool (result of flood damage); new greenhouse (contingent on grant); and the annual summer repairs, cleaning, and general maintenance. Mr. Heddinger also shared information with the board about a recent meeting with representatives from Veregy about the relationship between the two entities. Mr. Heddinger gave a general explanation on moving forward with any major construction project. The board could enter into an agreement with Veregy, and the next day things could begin moving forward or the board could put out a Request for Quote (RFQ) in which other similar companies to Veregy could apply to solicit our business. This process could delay any future project by several months. The last time the district put out an RFQ was for the renovation project at the TAC back in 2017. Veregy was the only company to respond to the RFQ at that time. On a related note, Mr. Heddinger did share that he was in contact with the IRS concerning the geothermal rebate the district applied for in November 2024. The application is under review after just completing a referral process. Mr. Heddinger expects to hear something in the coming weeks. Mr. Heddinger shared a list of nine pieces of legislation that are currently moving through the process. The biggest one on everyone’s radar is HB 711 – Open Enrollment. This bill has passed the House and is about to be heard on the Senate floor. The anticipation now is that this bill will be revised by the Senate and thus kicked back to the House. The current legislative session only has about 20 days left in the session. This may not be enough time to resolve any differences between the two sides of the assembly. HB 567 deals with the State Minimum Wage and this impacts schools by removing the exemption districts currently have with having to meet the minimum wage. Mr. Heddinger has been working to create a salary schedule that will keep Tarkio R-I above the minimum wage requirement should this bill pass in its current form. Other bills worth noting are: HB 607 – Teacher Salaries; SB 67 – School Safety Bill – 30 item Omnibus bill that is not good at all; HB 816 – Used Vehicle Assessment – this is a good bill that will prevent people from paying higher taxes on their used vehicle from a prior year; HB 629 – Personal Property Assessment – changes the percentage personal property is from 33% to 30% – this is a 10% decrease and would have a major impact on all entities that rely on property taxes for a source of revenue; SB 166 – Cardiac Emergency Response – this has good intentions all around it, but seems to be a tall order to place on schools as it requires more training and equipment for all staff to be familiar with in the event of a cardiac emergency; SB 485 – will move school board elections to November and change the structure of school boards to four-year terms staggered with four elected in one year and three two years later; SB 360 – this will change the accreditation system used by DESE to measure schools and allow individual school districts to use third-party vendors to demonstrate their effectiveness. Mr. Heddinger shared that the April MOSIS submission was certified ahead of schedule and thanked Mrs. Hogue for taking care of this in a timely manner. The next and final submission for this school year is the June submission. This is due by June 30 and they will begin the process immediately after the school year has been concluded. Mr. Heddinger continues to finalize the 2025-26 budget. The goal is to bring recommended salary schedules for all certified, non-certified, and extra duty staff to the May meeting for approval vs. the June meeting. Reminder that graduation for the Class of 2025 will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 11, 2025, (which is also Mother’s Day) in the Tarkio High School Gymnasium. Mr. Heddinger shared the agenda items for the May meeting with the board. The items included: review of contracts returned and openings; grant approval FV4; review of special services information; review of summer work plans and bids; legislative summary; salary discussion and possible final approval of all salary schedules; discuss student handbooks; approval of professional development activities for 2025-26; and program evaluation – at-risk and co-curricular/extra-curricular, extended learning time, alternative delivery systems (tabled from April).
Old Business
Mr. Barnes presented the board with information stemming from ongoing conversations between the Tarkio Golf Course board and himself related to the golf course contract. The proposal presented is to agree to a four-year agreement at $7,500 per year. The board directed the administration to make the above proposal to the Tarkio Golf Course Board and report back in May.
CSIP Review – Focus Area #3 – (information item) – Mr. Barnes gave a summary report on the area of Effective Teaching and Learning.
Insurance Renewal with MET for 2025-26 – (action item) – Mr. Heddinger shared with the board the insurance rate increase information (6.7%). While this increase was more than what has been the case traditionally with MET, it was considerably less when compared to what MEHUP was charging member districts for the 2025-26 school year. Mr. Heddinger pointed out that it was shared with him that MEHUP’s rate increases ranged from 15% to 29% along with an assessment fee ranging from $29,000 to $104,000. Mr. Heddinger recommended that the district go forward and increase the insurance cap from $600 to $650 for the 2025-26 school year. This will provide 100% premium coverage for all district staff on one of the three MET plans offered. A motion was made to approve the recommendation along with the cap increase. The motion passed 7-0.
New Business
There was no new business up for discussion.
Amy Hurst made a motion to enter closed session. The motion was seconded and approved and the meeting moved into closed session at 8:40 p.m.
In closed session personnel matters were discussed. These included the following: support staff evaluations for 2024-25, coaching evaluations for 2024-25, and extra duty assignments for 2025-26.
Corey Martin made the motion to exit closed session. The motion was seconded and approved and the meeting moved back into regular session at 9:15 p.m.
In open session, a motion was made by Brooke Vette and seconded by Sam Hannah to accept the extra duty list for 2025-26 as presented, removing spring coaches Lanette Hogue, Melody Barnett, and Sasha Bruce. The motion passed 7-0. A motion was made by Amy Hurst and seconded by Brooke Vette to approve Lanette Hogue, Melody Barnett, and Sasha Bruce for extra duty assignments for 2025-26. The motion passed 6-0 with Jamie Barnett abstaining.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 p.m. The Tarkio R-I Board of Education will hold the next two meetings May 21 and June 18, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in the superintendent’s office at Tarkio High School.
