The Tarkio R-I Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the central office of the Tarkio R-I School District. The meeting was called to order by Josh Wright, board president. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, the agenda was approved as presented. The board members present were Brooke Vette (arrived at 7:05 p.m.), Amy Hurst, Jamie Barnett, Sam Hannah, and Corey Martin. Tarkio R-I Superintendent Mr. Bob Heddinger took a moment to review the Board Mission & Vision Statement along with the Board Norms established and adopted in March of 2023.

Board Reorganization

Amy Hurst motioned and Corey Martin seconded to certify the election results for the board reorganization. The board voted 5-0 to accept the Acknowledgement of Certification of the Election Results from the April 7, 2026, Election. This is a formal step required by law even when no election was held. A motion was made by Jamie Barnett and seconded by Corey Martin to dissolve the current Board of Education. The motion passed 5-0. At this point, Superintendent Heddinger served as the moderator of the meeting. The next order of business required incumbent members, Amy Hurst and Josh Wright, to be sworn in for new three-year terms and new board member Rachel Rolf to be sworn in for a three-year term. A motion was made by Jamie Barnett and seconded by Rachel Rolf to nominate Josh Wright as board president – the vote was 6-0-1. 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 6-0-1. 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.

Consent Agenda

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

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

• Transfer of funds to pay certified teachers

• Under Personnel – The board approved the resignations of Erin Patrick and Sheryl Patrick. These resignations are effective at the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year.

• Program evaluation was tabled until the May meeting.

• The 2026-27 Extra Duty Salary Schedule (based on the current $42,000 base salary)

• The Class of 2026 graduation list

• The Career Ladder Plan for 2026-27

• Consent to participate in the Success Ready Student Assessment Pilot

• Craig Co-op Proposal

• Insurance renewal for 2026-27.

District Obligations

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 $441,266 in interest earnings through March 31, 2026, 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.

Communications

There were no public comments during the public time of the meeting. Ms. 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 thank you card from the Tarkio Resource Center that Mr. Heddinger shared with the members.

Administration Reports

Tarkio Elementary Principal/Tarkio R-I Assistant Superintendent Mr. Dustin Barnes submitted an elementary report. Overall enrollment for the building is 149 students. Overall attendance for the year sits at 94/89%.

The elementary is working hard at getting prepped for MAP testing. The theme for the year is “Animals – Wild About Testing.” Thanks to Mrs. Maria Spire for her work getting MAP testing schedules ready to go in the building. MAP Kickoff will occur on April 22 with MAP testing starting that day as well.

Move-up day will occur on May 15. The last day of school is scheduled for May 19. We are working on collecting curriculum requests, furniture and room requests, and maintenance requests for the summer and for the next school year.

Tarkio Elementary fifth grade has been approved to pilot the success ready student assessment next year, which will take the place, eventually, of the MAP test. Preschool screenings took place on March 27 and 29 were screened that day. Kindergarten screenings took place April 8 and 17 students were screened that day. Thanks again to all of the ladies who took their day to help screen these kids. The fourth and fifth grade music program was held on Thursday, April 2. End of-the-year STAR assessments will be proctored by Ms. Renee Hull, Mrs. Blu Dow and Mrs. Cindy Rolf. Elementary Field Day will be held May 15 in the afternoon. Class field trips are scheduled and begin next week. The P.D. Committee is working on the 2026-2027 professional development plan for next year and has looked over the P.D. 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 junior high and 94 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. The school administered ACT test results on March 13 and had 26 students. Class and vo-tech schedules for 2026-2027 are nearing completion. An informational meeting on the vo-tech programs was held on the evening of April 14. There are 12 students wanting to enroll in vocational programs – five at Tarkio Tech and seven at Northwest Technical School. State FFA qualifiers will be at Columbia April 15-17. Velicity Hegstrom and Mrs. Dara Spears will be in Jefferson City April 21 and 22 for the FCCLA Legislative shadowing event. State band qualifiers will be in Columbia on April 30. Baccalaureate was held on March 29. Senior trip will be held May 3 and 4. Graduation will take place on May 10 at 2:00 p.m. in the THS Gym. THS Scholar Bowl finished the season 11-4 and earned fourth place in the 275 Conference tournament. They compete in districts at Craig on Saturday, April 18. There are a lot of upcoming events. Semester tests are May 18 and the last day of school will be held on May 19.

Superintendent Mr. Bob Heddinger gave the following report:

• MSBA Video Summary – Budget season and the next three years look to be some of the “toughest” from a funding standpoint. District leaders and board members are reminded to be thinking long term.

• Building and Grounds Update – Mr. Heddinger shared that the new water heater for the high school has been installed along with a new hot water loop. This will deliver hot water in a timelier manner. New “A” coils for the gym HVAC unit have been installed and graduation should be cool. Water has found its way into the elementary library once again. This mystery will require a deeper investigation. Maryville Glass & Lock will be on campus April 20 to get some final measurements in preparation for the window project. The Glass Guy has ordered the new classroom and doors for the elementary. Once the doors have been received, installation will begin. Plans for summer projects outside the renovation projects are in the works and will consist of completion of projects left from last summer.

• Legislative Update – Mr. Heddinger shared a list of bills that are moving forward through the Missouri General Assembly.

• Community Forum – Mr. Heddinger gave a summary of the community forum held in the THS Auditorium on March 26. The event was attended by around 45 people in person and 45 people viewed on Facebook. The topic for the event was “Preserving our Rural Schools and Communities”

• Solar Panel Farm Opportunity – Mr. Heddinger held a meeting with Mrs. Beverly Jones a couple of weeks ago to discuss an opportunity for the school to save money on its electric bill. The potential savings could be as high as $25,000 per year with an annual rebate of nearly $8,300. The location of this solar farm is in Atchison County and Mrs. Jones is asking the school to sign a non-binding letter of intent to buy its electricity from the solar farm. A little more research needs to be done before a final recommendation can be made to the board.

• Core Data/MOSIS sub-missions – Mr. Heddinger shared that the April MOSIS submission was certified ahead of schedule. The next and final submission for this school year is the June submission. This is due by June 30 and the process will begin soon so that it can be done in early June.

• Preliminary Budget – Mr. Heddinger continues to finalize the 2026-27 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.

• Graduation for the Class of 2026 will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 10, 2026 (Mother’s Day) in the Tarkio High School Gymnasium.

• Agenda Items for the May board meeting – 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; re-view 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 2026-27; and program evaluation – instructional climate (tabled from April).

Old Business

CSIP Review Focus Area #4 – Mr. Barnes gave a summary report on the area of functional and safe facilities and environment.

Veregy contract agreement/Elementary Renovation Project for summer of 2026 – Mr. Heddinger shared with the board the detailed contract for the elementary project. This contract has been reviewed by the school attorney and is in good order. The Veregy part of the project cost comes in at $1,081,504.67. When combined with the window and door projects that will take place this summer at the elementary, the grand total will be $1,459,298.18. The motion passed 7-0.

New Business

TeamMates Mentoring Program – Mr. Heddinger gave a summary of the TeamMates Mentoring Program and how it would tie into the ongoing social/emotional programs already in place at Tarkio R-I. The program would work with students in grades 3-12 to match them with an adult mentor. These adult mentors are volunteers that must complete a background check and go through an application process before they are matched up with a student. The overall goal of the program is to foster positive relationships and help grow our communities through one-on-one interaction. After some discussion, the board voted 7-0 for the school to seek to become a TeamMates Chapter.

• Common Goal Systems school financial software program – Mr. Heddinger shared with the board information about a new bookkeeping financial program that he would recommend the school district switch to vs. Software Unlimited. The initial cost for year one is $1,000 higher than Software Unlimited, but beyond that it is cheaper by about $1,000 annually. The program has many more features that are considered “add-ons” with Software Unlimited. After some discussion, the board voted 7-0 to accept Mr. Heddinger’s recommendation to purchase the financial software program through Common Goal Systems.

Amy Hurst made a motion to enter into closed session and the motion was seconded and approved at 8:49 p.m. In closed session, personnel matters were discussed and voted on: extra duty assignments for 2026-27 and rescinding and voiding of teaching contract. The meeting moved back into regular session at 9:46 p.m. and adjourned at 9:47 p.m.

The Tarkio R-I Board of Education will hold its next two meetings May 20 and June 17, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the superintendent’s office at Tarkio High School.