Monett forced to pick up $300K with local money

By Jessica Breger Special to Monett Monthly

The Monett school district will commit more local money to title program salary benefits this year following a cut in federal funding.

The Monett School Board discussed school funding, student safety and more during the Aug. 21 Board of Education meeting. 

The meeting began with a decision on the current tax levy, as the board unanimously voted to keep the same overall tax rate of 3.9196 for the 2025-2026 fiscal year as it currently utilizes. 

One focus of the budget this year will be paying off debts so funding is more easily available for future use without the need for tax increases. 

Board members noted this comes shortly after residential property assessments for both Barry and Lawrence counties went up. 

Superintendent Mark Drake confirmed that both counties did see a 10-15 increase in residential assessments.

The discussion then shifted to federal funding issues. 

“Numbers have been fluid, but in federal money, we lost about $300,000,” said Isaac Sooter, assistant superintendent. ”We submitted our application in June, and we didn’t have all the numbers in, so it was kind of in anticipation. They froze about $6 billion in federal funds. They released those funds, and we got those numbers about two weeks ago.”

Sooter went on to say the district resubmitted its application for federal funding, but ultimately lost approximately $300,000 compared to last year. 

“Essentially, a lot of those funds are paying for salary benefits within the title program, so we’re reducing the amount of percentage that we’re paying with federal funds for some of those salary benefits and will have to cover that with local money,” he said. “So, this is an impact.”

Sooter did clarify that the impact would be seen only in the financial strain, but no impact to services would be felt by the public, at least in the short term.

The board also discussed student safety during the first board meeting of the school year, hearing from Resource Officer Jay Jastal. 

Jastal reported that he and other staff attended recertification to review evacuation procedures.

A main focus of the training was on active shooter situations. The training emphasized evacuating when possible and pre-planning decisions.

“It really doesn’t change what we’ve been doing when we have an emergency situation such as an active shooter,” he said. “We really want to focus on evacuation, and we are working on the lockdown stuff.

“If you can, get away from the situation, if you can’t you lock down.”

Jastal said while there is pre-planning done by staff and faculty, they must keep in mind that everything is incident-driven.

“We have got to make a quick decision,” said Jastal, explaining that even with pre-planning, each situation requires different action depending on multiple variables teachers and staff would need to navigate on behalf of their students.

Jastal also reported that staff has received “Stop the Bleed” training, which teaches about tunicates and “quick clot” to aid in caring for injuries in the district.

The district’s technology department is also working to update security cameras across the district.

The school board also took time to acknowledge staff during the August meeting. 

The custodial staff was praised for their work in maintaining facilities during the summer school session while preparing the district for the regular 2025-2026 school year. 

Coach Michael Calhoun was also given special recognition for his work with Monett baseball. He was recently named the 2024-2025 Southwest Missouri Middle School Athletic Director of the year by the Interscholastic Athletic Administration Association.

This recognition comes following Calhoun’s 300th career victory in baseball. 

The next meeting of the Monett School Board will be held on Sept. 18. The Board meets at 6 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at Board Administrative Meeting Room located at the District Office.