The Tarkio R-I Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, February 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 President Josh Wright. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, the agenda was approved without any additions. Board members present were Amy Hurst, Sam Hannah, and Corey Martin.

The consent agenda was approved by a vote of 4-0, which included the following items:

• The minutes from the January 21, 2026, regular and closed session meetings

• The transfer of funds to pay certified teachers.

• A program evaluation for ADA accessibility and safety for the district was presented to the board.

• Graduate follow-up data on the Class of 2025 and the Enhancement Grant for welding booths and welders for the Ag Department. Parts of this grant are a 75/25 cost share and parts are a 50/50 cost share. The grant total will be $35,450 with the district’s part being $10,213 and the state’s part being $25,237.

• The board approved the hiring of Ms. Kelsea Kirwan to serve as the East Atchison boys’ assistant golf coach for 2025-2026.

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 that showed continued decreases in the high school utility bills. The MOCAAT accounts have a combined total investment of $8,551,801. These funds are split between fixed investments ($4,350,000) and liquid investments ($4,201,801). The board voted 4-0 to pay the district’s bills for the month.

There were no public comments during the public time of the meeting. Mrs. Nikki Parshall submitted the TAC report for the month of February. Mrs. Blu Dow submitted the CTA report for February. Mrs. Joey Stevens submitted a food service report that showed the number of breakfasts and lunches served in January. Mrs. Stevens also gave a special presentation to the board highlighting the OPAA’s role in the school district.

Administration Reports

Tarkio Elementary Prin-ci-pal/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 95.12%. On February 17, four students went to Rock Port to participate in the Atchison County Spelling Bee. Tarkio participants were Lillie Maupin, Genesis Anaya, Aliyah Wilke, and Tristan Burke. Lillie finished in third place and Tristan finished in fourth. Valentine’s Day parties occurred on Wednesday, February 11. The PBIS committee sold 1,809 pop grams! We celebrated the 100th day of school on Friday, February 6. Elementary game night was held on Wednesday, February 4. There were 65 students and parents in attendance. As-needed parent/teacher conferences were held on Thursday, February 12. The third graders will be having their parachute routine Thursday, February 19, during the winter homecoming basketball games at the TAC. Preschool enrollment for next year will start on Monday, February 23. The school began working on the elementary MAP schedule on February 12. We are still discussing a theme for the year. The February file review for the PAT program has been conducted. Thanks to Shannon Bruns and Jayne Martin for their work with that program. Read Across America Week will be held the week of March 2. Librarian Mrs. Dallas Prather and the reading committee have some events planned. The third quarter will end on March 6. The RPDC math consultant was onsite February 3 and worked with all of the K-8 math teachers. They worked on intervention strategies and MAP prep as well as curriculum alignment. The DCI Team came on February 10 to conduct learning walks through both buildings and met with the school’s district leadership team. The community outreach committee has been working on updating the school website and working on adding and updating a weekly events slideshow on the page.

Tarkio High School Principal Mr. Terry Petersen submitted a junior high and high school report. Enrollment numbers are 79 in the middle school and 93 in the high school. They will be giving the eighth grade class the NAEP test on March 3. MAP and EOC testing schedule has been completed. On March 11, they will be holding an ACT test at THS for students. There is no school on February 23, but it will be a P.D. Day. Winter homecoming is finally occurring on February 19. Boys’ district wrestling at Lathrop is February 20-21. National FFA Week will be held February 23-27. The district basketball tournament will occur at St. Joseph Christian the week of February 23. State wrestling will be held February 25 and 26. Spring sports practices start March 2. The quarter will end on March 6. Tarkio will be hosting the Small Bands Festival at THS on March 10 and the district band and solo and ensembles will be held March 14 at St. Joseph Central.  State FCCLA will be held March 15-17. The National Honor Society held a blood drive today at the TAC. The NHS members will deliver Meals on Wheels February 18 and 25. On March 18, the district will have a career day for sophomores at TTI.

Tarkio R-I Superintendent Bob Heddinger gave his report. The MSBA video summary (summary of SB 3, which will be on the April ballot) was presented. This ballot measure will, if passed, set a cap of 5% on property tax for seniors living on a homestead. It will create a tax credit and thus schools and other entities that rely on local revenues to operate will be losing revenue. Over the past two years, the General Assembly has passed two pieces of legislation, SB 727 and SB 68, that impose financial mandates on schools. So, at a time when the need for increased revenue is most needed, schools face the possibility of losing revenue. This will make long-range planning, management of reserve balances, and balancing budgets all that more difficult. March is Board of Education Recognition Month.

• Legislative update – Several bills were discussed covering topics from open enrollment, the state oversight board over MSHSAA, MO Scholars ex-pansion, and property tax changes. Tarkio R-I Superintendent Mr. Bob Heddinger and Board President Josh Wright recently attended an event in Maryville, Missouri, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce where the speakers talked about Missouri School Funding at the state and local level.

• DESE update – MOSIS and Core data submissions for February were submitted on time. The State Board of Education denied all current and future waiver requests to adjust the start of school from the current date of August 24, 2026. There will be three new board members appointed by Governor Kehoe to the State Board of Education in June.

• Mr. Heddinger will be meeting with Mrs. Rachel Rolf on February 20 to begin her training as a new board member. Mrs. Rolf will officially be sworn in at the April 15, 2026, board meeting.

• Building and grounds update – The ag department/FFA greenhouse renovation project is 100% completed. The elementary renovation project and athletic storage building project will be discussed under old business. Waldinger HVAC contractor has removed the damaged a-coil from one of the gym HVAC units and is working to repair it in time for graduation. A small leak was detected last week and the utility company came in and worked with maintenance supervisor Mr. Bill Joesting to resolve the matter.

• The 2026-2027 school calendar will be presented for the final time during old business.

• Mr. Heddinger is starting the “meet and confer” process with the Salary and Welfare Committee. A meeting is tentatively scheduled for February 23 to discuss the top priorities for the committee coming from the staff.

Mr. Heddinger shared the agenda items for the March meeting with the board. The list of items includes: Salary Committee proposal, review teacher and coaching evaluations, review teacher contracts and extra duty assignments, legislative report, mowing bids (2028), set teacher contracts and contract stipulations and contract salaries, program evaluation – technology plan, technology purchases, and vocational education.

Old Business

• 2026-27 School Calendar (third and final reading) – Mr. Heddinger shared that nothing has changed since the first reading of the calendar in December. The board approved the 2026-27 calendar as presented by a vote of 4-0.

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

• Request for Proposal (RFP) Tarkio Elementary window project (Summer 2026) – Mr. Heddinger shared with the Board the RFP for the elementary window project. After some discussion, the board approved the RFP as presented by a vote of 4-0.

• Athletic Storage Building Project – Mr. Heddinger shared with the board the details for the construction of a 60’x20’ storage building at the track/football field. The concrete work would be completed by Hoffman Concrete with a quoted price of $25,800 for the building and an additional $8,500 for demolition and repairs to the entrance of the TAC. This would make the total for the concrete work $34,300. The board approved this proposal. Mr. Heddinger then presented a bid from Sleek Creek Home Improvement to construct the 60’x20’ structure for $34,500. The board approved this proposal. Mr. Heddinger reminded the board that the funds to complete this project are drawn from the Fund #4 balances, which are earmarked specifically for capital projects. The work will begin in the coming days, weather permitting.

New Business

• Preliminary Budget for 2026-27 – Mr. Heddinger presented a preliminary budget that showed anticipated revenues standing at $8,654,200 and anticipated expenditures standing at $8,559,614. These numbers would provide a budget balance of $129,586 for the 2026-27 school year. Mr. Heddinger pointed out to the board that this preliminary budget makes several assumptions and there is still much uncertainty at the present time.

The meeting entered closed session at 8:40 p.m., during which time personnel matters were discussed. The meeting moved back into open session at 9:49 p.m. and the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m.

The Tarkio R-I Board of Education will hold the next two meetings on March 18 and April 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the superintendent’s office at Tarkio High School.