The Tarkio R-I Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the central office of the Tarkio R-I School District in Tarkio, Missouri. The members present were Josh Wright, Amy Hurst, Rachel Rolf, Jamie Barnett, and Sam Hannah. Members Brooke Vette and Corey Martin were absent. President Josh Wright called the meeting to order and all in attendance stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The agenda was approved with the following changes:

• The policy and regulation updates were moved from the consent agenda to new business as an information item

• Two action items were added under new business: social media lawsuit and Tarkio Scholarship Foundation

• Two items were added under the consent agenda: a contract for peer support counseling and additional substitute teachers for 2026-27. Member Brooke Vette entered the meeting at 7:05 p.m.

The consent agenda was approved with the change which included the following items:

• The minutes from the August 19, 2026, regular meeting

• Transfer of funds to pay certified teachers

• The National FFA Convention trip October 20-24, 2026

• The annual approval of Policy 4610 – Teacher Evaluation Instrument and Policy 1110 – Religious Assurance.

• The board also approved items to be deemed as surplus from the Ag Department Policy 3390. The list will be advertised beginning the week of September 21. Items include miscellaneous welders, heaters, and old welding booths and will be advertised for sealed bids with the proceeds going to the District’s Capital Projects Fund.

• A MOU for peer support counseling services with Mrs. Melissa McAdams and the approval of Mrs. Balandron, Mrs. Keller, and Mrs. McAdams as substitute teachers for the 2026-27 school year.

The district financial reports for the month were presented and the board approved the bills. A four-year utility report was provided. Tarkio R-I Superintendent Bob Heddinger did highlight several bills that were unique for this time of year. These included the bus and hotels for the FFA Convention, lease interest payment for the 2018 lease for the TAC renovation project, the final Veregy payment ($128,373.04), Matheson Tri Gas ($6,036) for welder leads, Conrad & Higgins ($3,825)for audit field work, and MSBA ($2,778.59) for local tax effort. Mr. Heddinger shared the MOCAAT investments for the end of August 31, 2026, sat at $2,500,000 in the fixed account and $5,343,515 in the liquid account = total investments = $7,843,515 with $571,473 in total interest earned since July 2024.

The TAC report for the month of September and the first CTA report for the 2026-27 school year were presented. Both reports demonstrate that everything is in full swing and moving forward.

Administration Reports

Tarkio R-I Assistant Superintendent and Tarkio Elementary Principal Dustin Barnes submitted an elementary report. Overall enrollment for the building is 159 students. The elementary Scholastic Book Fair is taking place the week of September 14 and wraps up on Friday. Thanks to librarian Mrs. Dallas Prather for running such a wonderful event. Star testing has been taking place in the elementary and is wrapping up. The math teachers and title teacher met to discuss tiered groupings and instruction during RTI Time and the same will be done with reading next week. Thanks to Renee Hull, Cindy Rolf, and Blu Dow for their testing efforts. Kindergarten is finishing up their KOF assessments that are required to be completed by the end of the first 30 days of school. The Scouts were here on September 9 to meet with all students grades K-5. Picture day took place in the elementary school on September 10. The career ladder committee and administration met on September 16 to discuss eligibility questions. They will be meeting with the teachers on Friday as a follow-up as teachers begin making their plans for the year. The elementary had a lockdown drill on September 3 and will be having a fire drill once the rain stops. Angela Dorsey from RPDC was here on Tuesday, September 15, to work with the math teams. They looked at item analysis information and worked in vertical teams to discuss items of concern and how to improve instruction. New teachers and mentors are continuing to go through BTAP. The DCI consultants were here to work with the PD committee on Wednesday and set trainings for the first semester. There is a P.D. Day on Monday, September 21, and will focus on curriculum work. Administrative meetings with the athletic director, counselor and SPED director have taken place.

Tarkio High School Principal Terry Petersen submitted a junior high and high school report. Enrollment numbers are as follow: high school, 85; and junior high, 77. STAR testing baseline testing went smoothly and the staff and at-risk teacher are using results to identify strengths and weaknesses. The IPI observations and walk throughs have started. Cell phone issues are down this year and have been a non-issue so far. RPDC was here on Tuesday to work with the math teams and work on item analysis. On October 14, new teachers and administrators will meet with RPDC at NWMSU. Parent-teacher conferences will be October 15. FFA fruit sales are underway. The FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, will take place October 20-24. FCA has started Tuesday morning meetings. The FBLA and yearbook staff attended a day-long workshop on September 15. NHS had its first meeting and assisted with Meals on Wheels. Counselors have been bringing in outside colleges for visits. The Accuplacer was administered to four students this past week. Ellie Graves is starting the HOPS program for organization with the sixth graders. Upcoming events include: Football Pink-Out Night, Friday, September 25; Fall Homecoming week, October 5-9; THS Marching Indians march in Clarinda on October 3; District Golf is October 8 at Cameron; EA Volleyball Pink-Out and Senior Parents’ Night at the TAC, October 6; No school for fall break October 16-19; and EA Senior Parents’ Night for the senior football team members, band members, cheerleaders, golf girls, cross country runners, and dance team members will be Friday, October 23, at Fairfax.

Mr. Heddinger gave a report. Registration is open for the MSBA Fall Conference scheduled for October 22-24, 2026, in Kansas City. The Veregy walk-through on the elementary project was completed in early September with Mr. Barnes and Mr. Heddinger. The weather has delayed the installation of the last of the windows in the elementary classrooms. Once the rain stops, Maryville Glass will be here to complete the work. The new doors for the POD area have been ordered. No timeline has been established for their installation. Mr. Heddinger is starting to gather information for Phase II of the elementary building remodel for the summer of 2027. The career ladder committee met with the administration on September 16 to discuss ideas for improving the overall career ladder plan. This was a very productive meeting and the administration recognizes the hard work of the committee and its members. The Missouri Board of Education met on September 15 to approve the new A-F grade card and the timeline for its roll out. The framework was approved, but the roll out was not, and it was decided that the state B.O.E. wanted to see the A-F grade card with school data inserted before anyone else. This preliminary A-F grade card will be using data from 2024-25 and will be for demonstration purposes essentially. The official A-F grade card will go out next September using data from the 2026-27 school year. During this same meeting, the state board of education decided to vote against the recommendation from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (D.E.S.E.) for the additional $300 million requested by D.E.S.E. for the foundation formula in the 2028 FY budget. Mr. Heddinger remarked, “I have to say this is unprecedented and time will tell what signal is trying to be sent by the state B.O.E.” Finally, the funding task force held one of their final three meetings on September 14 and it is apparent that everyone is working hard to ensure that whatever new funding formula comes to be, that schools and communities do not “fall off a cliff.” At the conclusion of this meeting, it was stated that by next month’s meeting, there will be simulations for districts to run to see how they will be impacted using one of the two models that are currently being promoted. The August core data has been submitted. The October MOSIS and core data submissions will be submitted without delay in the coming weeks. A special program review was discussed. This was a comparison of the revenues received by the district from the state or federal government to help satisfy many of the mandates placed on the school district vs. the actual expenditures. The special programs included the Title I Programs, REAP/E-rate, Special Education, and PAT. The bottom line is that the total revenues Tarkio R-I receives to support these programs totals $330,128 vs. the cost of the programs at $1,122,258. This means that the difference of $792,130 is made up with local monies. These programs are vital and necessary to best serve the students, but are grossly underfunded by the state and federal government.

Mr. Heddinger will be sending out the information to the board members to complete their mandatory one-hour refresher training prior to the October meeting.

Mr. Heddinger shared the agenda items for the October meeting with the board. The list of items include: approve the school audit (if completed); bids for school liability insurance (as needed); approve bus route information and the snow removal plan (bid as needed); program evaluations – written curriculum and class offerings and instructional effectiveness.

The Board of Education will meet Wednesdays, October 21 and November 18, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the superintendent’s office at Tarkio High School.

Old Business

Mr. Barnes gave an update on the CSIP. The topic was Focus Area 1 – Collaborative climate and culture.

Mr. Heddinger shared the final 2026-27 budget for board approval. The board voted 6-0 to approve the budget as presented. Highlights of the budget were: revenues, $8,854,668; expenditures, $8,334,303; and budget balance, $520,36.5

New Business

Mr. Barnes and Mr. Heddinger shared the policy and regulation updates as an information item along with a brief explanation of each item and how it impacts the district. These items will be presented again next month as action items for board approval.

Mr. Barnes and Mr. Heddinger shared information about a Social Media Class Action Lawsuit and the possibility of the district joining the case. It was agreed that more information was needed and the matter was tabled for next month.

Mr. Heddinger presented information and asked the board to approve funds to help establish a Tarkio Scholarship Foundation. This new foundation would be established through the Community Foundation of Northwest Missouri. Mrs. Prather and the Tarkio CTA Scholarship Committee were thanked for their hard work in making this all a possibility. The board voted to approve the formation of the foundation and the $18,797.85 to get the foundation established. This money, along with the funds already raised, will bring the grand total to $45,000 to start the Tarkio Scholarship Foundation.

The meeting adjourned at 8:43 p.m.