The Tarkio R-I Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 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 Josh Wright. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, the agenda was approved as presented. Other board members present were Brooke Vette, Amy Hurst, Raymond Gebhards, Jamie Barnett, Sam Hannah, 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 and included the following items:

• The minutes from the February 18, 2026, regular and closed session meetings

• Transfer of funds to pay certified teachers

• Under personnel – the addition of Mr. Troy Kull being hired as an assistant EA junior high track coach for the 2025-26 school year and the resignations of paraprofessional Mrs. Melissa Comstock and elementary P.E. teacher Mrs. Michelle Seiter (these resignations are effective at the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year)

• Program evaluation for the district vocational programs and technology plans were presented to the board

Other items approved under the consent agenda included – overnight trips for State FFA and FCCLA, State Music Festival, and senior trip; the food service agreement with OPAA! for the 2026-27 school year; and the salary schedule and contract stipulations for the 2026-27 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 final item under the consent agenda was a revision to the student handbook related to the Missouri Options Program – specifically concerning early graduation.

The district financial reports were presented for the month and the board approved the bills for the month by a 7-0 vote. A four-year utility report was provided with 2022 established as the base year. The MOCAAT accounts have a combined $405,140 in interest earnings through February 28, 2026, 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) = $250,799 and high school renovation project (2023) = $236,525.

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. Mrs. Nikki Parshall provided a report on the activities at the TAC.

Mr. Heddinger informed the board that Mrs. Melody Barnett was selected by the CTA members as Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Barnett will represent Tarkio R-I along with her peers from the other Northwest Missouri school districts at a regional event where one will be selected as the Northwest Region Teacher of the Year.

ADMINISTRATION REPORTS

Tarkio Elementary Principal/Tarkio R-I Assistant Superintendent Mr. Dustin Barnes submitted an elementary report. Overall enrollment for the building is 148 students. Overall attendance for the year sits at 94.76%. Pre-school enrollment currently sits at 20 students with a current waiting list of 5. Screenings will take place on March 27. Grade cards were sent home on Thursday, March 12. The book fair took place the week of March 9. Mrs. Dallas Prather reported the book fair made just over $6,000. Elementary Lit Night took place March 5 and was well attended. A total of 65 individuals signed up for the event. Ms. Renee Hull was thanked for setting this up and the following teachers for participating – Mrs. Michelle Seiter, Mrs. Brooke Domingo, Ms. Erica Taylor, Ms. Jenn Showalter, Ms. Crystal Moore, Mrs. Jodie Dorrel, Mrs. Gracie Hopkins, Mrs. Dallas Prather and Mrs. Twilla Clark. The third quarter PBIS assembly was March 6 and the third quarter STAR/MAP and character assembly was March 13. Preparations are being made for MAP testing in the elementary building. Mrs. Maria Spire is running this. Elementary testing will begin the week of April 20. Elementary classrooms are scheduling their end-of-the-year field trips. Curriculum purchase requests for the elementary building are being received now and the junior high/high school requests will start next week. School will not be in session March 19-23 for spring break. P.D. will meet on March 23 with DCI leading the conversations and the counselors will be presenting the MAP/EOC training. The 2026-2027 class schedules are being finalized. The P.D. Committee has sent two surveys to the staff to help craft the P.D. plan for the next year.

Tarkio High School Principal Mr. Terry Petersen submitted a junior high and high school report. Enrollment numbers are 79 in the junior high and 94 in the high school. The third quarter ended on March 6. The junior high and high school students had an honor roll and attendance recognition assembly on March 13. ACT testing was administered at Tarkio on March 11 and went smoothly. Preliminary class schedules have been created and the district had its initial class sign-up. Once that is completed, the schedule will be tweaked as needed. The third STAR testing will take place the week of April 7. The district is in the process of working on external student counseling support for next year. The two services are not going to be able to provide services next year so the administration and counselors are working on alternatives. Sophomores visited Northwest Technical School on March 6. Tarkio Tech hosted a career day for sophomores on March 18. ACDC is sponsoring its eighth grade career day on March 24 and they are also sponsoring a junior job shadow day March 26. DCI will be here on March 23 to work on learning targets with the staff. Counselors will also discuss spring EIS surveys and MAP/EOC testing. Baseball, golf and track seasons are off and running. The State FCCLA Conference occurred March 15-17. Three students competed and Star Hankins qualified for nationals. On March 21, music students will compete in the Music Solo and Ensemble District Competition at St. Joseph Central. Baccalaureate will take place at the Good News Church in Tarkio on March 29. District FFA contests take place at NWMSU on March 31 and April 1. Senior sponsors and classmates are working on plans for the senior trip in Kansas City May 3 and 4. State FFA Convention will occur April 15-17.

Mr. Bob Heddinger gave his superintendent report. A workshop on AI in Education in Jefferson City will be held April 3, 2026. March is School Board Appreciation Month. Thank you to our board members for their hard work and commitment to the school district and community. School was cancelled on Monday, March 16, 2026, due to weather. This is the second day lost to weather this school year. Building and Grounds Update – The concrete work at the TAC and for the new athletic storage building is completed. The construction of the athletic storage building will begin in about a month. This project will be completed by local vendor, Sleek Creek. The new “A” coils for the gym HVAC system arrived and were installed on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The new water heater for the high school will be delivered and installation will begin Thursday, March 19, 2026. TLC Lawn Care was on campus Wednesday, March 18, 2026, putting on the spring pre-emergent and fertilizer application. The Missouri Legislative General Assembly is currently on spring break. Several bills are making moves through the legislature. The HB 2780 Omnibus Property Tax Bill passed the House and is moving on to the Senate. This bill has several provisions that are good and some not so good. The hope is that the bad ones can be pulled or revised on the Senate side and a better version comes out. SB 998 Voucher Bill (MO Scholars) and SB 971 Open Enrollment both are sitting on the Senate Informal Calendar. This means they can be called to the floor at any time for a final debate and vote. They have been in these positions now for several weeks and it is hard to tell why they have not moved forward. HJR 173 – Elimination of the State Income Tax passed the House last week by a slim majority. This is Governor Kehoe’s top priority and it will be very interesting to see how this plays out in the Senate. If this gets through the Senate, it will still need to go before the voters of Missouri in November to become law, since this will be changing the State Constitution. HB 2335 – Teacher Training Flexibility will reduce/change the required annual training that staff must go through. This would be a welcomed relief to all. HB 2872 – Literacy Legislation is a mandatory retention piece for students that don’t meet a particular benchmark by third grade. At the most recent MASA meeting, a compliance checklist for SB 68 (passed last year – the No Cell Phone Law) was provided. Mr. Heddinger and Mr. Barnes are currently working through the list to ensure that the district meets all the requirements. At this meeting, Commissioner of Education Enslinger spoke to the group and had many encouraging things to say about changes at DESE, work on the A-F Report Card, and public education in general. At one point, she did mention that schools should prepare for “consolidation.” She did say that there is nothing in the works, but that everyone should have a plan “B.” The Salary and Welfare Committee held its second meeting on March 10, 2026. Mr. Heddinger shared with the group that our insurance rate increased 4.6%. This was extremely low when compared to others in the Northwest region, with increases ranging from 9%-36%. Scholarship Foundation – Mr. Heddinger pointed out that the CTA raised $2,240 from their chili supper fundraiser. Mrs. Dallas Prather is working with Northwest Community Foundation and putting together a Tarkio Scholarship Foundation where all the local scholarship funds can be placed and yield better returns. As this moves forward, more will be shared with the board.

Mr. Heddinger has organized a community forum on March 26, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. in the Tarkio High School auditorium. The topic is “Preservation of Rural Schools & Communities.” There will be a panel of three presenters at this event that will each bring their unique perspective to the evening.

Mr. Heddinger shared the agenda items for the April meeting with the board, including: Food Service Contract (review yearly – renews 2028); swear in new board members/recognize outgoing member (if necessary); elect board officers, board secretary, and board treasurer; approve election results and board member training plans (if necessary); approval of summer school; support staff evaluations; legislative report; discuss end-of-the-year dinner for staff; set support staff work schedules; board policy update recommendations by policy service (MCE); review health insurance (take bids as needed)(adjust cap); program evaluation – multicultural; disability awareness and gender fair practices; migratory services; English as a second language, homelessness, and community education, and Career Ladder.

Old Business

CSIP Review – Focus Area #3 – Mr. Barnes gave a summary report on the area of effective teaching and learning.

Elementary Building Renovation Update – Mr. Heddinger shared with the board the most recent walk-thru completed by Veregy on March 10, 2026. The plan at this point is for Veregy to come back the first part of April with a proposal to complete all the work in the POD area, painting the hallways, updated electrical in the classrooms, and demo of the old boiler. Mr. Bill Joesting, Mr. Barnes, and Mr. Heddinger are working on the timeline and schedule to move all the rooms and equipment prior to, during and after the projects are completed this summer.

New Business

Policy and Regulation Update – 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.

Window Project – Mr. Heddinger shared with the board that four vendors requested bid packets and that two turned in completed packets by the March 11, 2026, deadline. The two bids received were from Maryville Glass and Lock (Maryville) for $262,888.51 and Timekey Glazing (KCMO) for $420,334.00. Mr. Heddinger recommended that the district go with the bid from Maryville Glass and Lock. The board voted 7-0 to accept the bid from Maryville Glass and Lock.

Door Project – Mr. Heddinger shared with the board the three phase plan to replace the interior doors and three of the exterior doors at the elementary building. Phase one will be for 23 doors at a cost of $47,362.87. Phase two will be at a cost of $$9,422.13 and Phase Three will be at a cost of $18,120.00. The board voted 7-0 to accept the three bids from The Glass Guy, Inc. to complete the three phase project.

Preschool Enrollment Procedure – Mr. Barnes shared information on the current preschool enrollment procedure. Changes will be identified and addressed in the preschool handbook that will be approved in June.

Board members voted unanimously to move to executive session at 8:41 p.m. Personnel matters were discussed.

They voted to exit the closed session at 9:08 p.m.

In open session, a motion was made by Amy Hurst and seconded by Corey Martin to offer Non-Tenured Staff List #1 contracts for the 2026-27 school year. The motion passed 7-0. Amy Hurst also made a motion seconded by Corey Martin to offer Non-Tenured Staff List #3 contracts for the 2026-27 school year. The motion passed 6-0 with Josh Wright abstaining. Amy Hurst made a motion that was seconded by Corey Martin to offer Kari Taylor a contract as Special Education Director for the 2026-27 school year. The motion passed 7-0. Amy Hurst made a motion that was seconded by Corey Martin to offer a teaching contract to Kara Vette for the 2026-27 school year. The motion passed 6-0 with Brooke Vette abstaining. Amy Hurst made a motion seconded by Corey Martin to offer Alieah Kendrick a teaching contract for the 2026-27 school year pending approval by NWMSU. The motion passed 7-0.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 p.m. The next two Tarkio R-I Board of Education meetings will be held at 7:00 p.m. April 15 and May 20, 2026.