Superintendent to push for help with endowment funding

By Murray Bishoff Special to the Cassville Democrat

There was both good news and bad news at the Purdy school board meeting in May as district leaders try to navigate uncertain financial waters. 

The good news, Superintendent Travis Graham reported, was the Missouri General Assembly did not push through the myriad of changes to state financing proposed for public schools. Changes were proposed in the legislature over property tax reform, open enrollment, mandates on governance, new rules on individualized education programs, bullying, limiting screen time, financial transparency, and a parents’ bill of rights. 

Several of these, Graham suspected, would return priorities for next year’s session. Voters will have a say as well as Gov. Kehoe’s proposal to eliminate state income tax in favor of much higher sales taxes goes to voters in August. 

Graham said legislators turned down the proposal to grade school districts on an A-to-F letter grade. Since Kehoe mandated the letter grade anyway, the issue goes into the hands of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which has to come up with a framework for making the evaluation. That puts the issue into the hands of educators, rather than politicians. 

Graham added that the district will not have to face a dual accountability system in the immediate future, evaluated both under the Missouri School Improvement Plan 6 and the letter grade. He noted Purdy will need to re-evaluate its Comprehensive School Improvement Program in the coming school year, as the district’s strategy ran from 2022 to 2027. 

“This is a good time to pause and think of how we frame next year and future years, knowing the budget will be a big source of contention in future years,” Graham said.

The state budget anticipated a $362 million shortfall in the coming year. Graham calculated the district’s budget for the coming year on a State Adequacy Target of the state paying $6,700 per pupil, though optimistically he thought the rate could go as high as $6,950. He preferred to lean on a conservative estimate. 

Financial strategy

The board opted to delay its discussion with financial advisor Stifel until its June budget workshop, coming at the end of the school year. 

Graham noted that two years ago he opened a discussion with Missouri Capital Assist Advantage Treasury (MOCAAT), which carries the district’s bond fund. An additional source of income could provide a buffer to curtail state budget cuts. 

If the district had $10 million in an endowment fund, projections suggested that could generate an additional $522,000 a year, available to pay certified teachers. He noted eventually the district will be required to give annual raises of 1-3% a year, plus steps for years of service. At the present time, Purdy still pays a base salary of $2,000 below the state-mandated $40,000. 

Board President Ken Terry observed the $3 million to $4 million range is where the district needs to reach in an endowment fund. 

“This strategy preserves your community, and you’re not asking for a tax increase to fund the teachers you have,” Graham said. “In the 2026-27 school year, we’ll ask what the community wants from its school. What do you want to see Purdy become? If doomsday comes and we have zero plan, then we have to ask what do we cut, what opportunities do we stop offering? Kids will be missing out. This is open for you to think about. This will be one of my major areas of concentration in the coming year.”

Another financial concern arose over the recent severe hailstorm. Graham said the district’s van and Suburban had damage. Buses nudged up to an awning suffered no broken windows. 

Roofing consultants had differing views on damage to the building. The district’s insurance provided contacted a firm to make an initial analysis. Graham felt there was a good chance insurance would cover a major part of the damage. 

Early Learning 

expansion

On a positive note, the board approved expanding the district’s Early Learning Center to 44 students from the present 30. Principal Julie Dalton said the program has had a waiting list every year. 

Those who start are ready for kindergarten, and very often those not served need help to catch up. The expansion, covered by Title 1 and another program with no additional cost to the district, will cover the waiting list. Dalton wants to add a teacher and a paraprofessional to the staff as well. 

Personnel action

In personnel action, the board accepted resignations from librarian Michelle Hilburn and Drew Williams, high school social studies and Root Ed instructor. Two paraprofessionals, a teacher’s aide, and a bus driver also resigned. Bill Utter submitted his retirement from custodial duties. 

Hired were Brad Stewart as a high school social studies and physical education teacher, Kayla Roderman as an Early Learning teacher, and Adam Williams to teach high school social studies. 

A variety of extra-duty positions were filled. New stipends were added for intervention in math and English language learners. Co-sponsors for FBLA and FCCLA were dropped, as was the Root Ed sponsor. Several positions remain unfilled, such as a registered nurse to oversee some high needs students. 

Reports

Graham and Dalton reviewed STAR test data on students, comparing beginning of the year numbers and year’s end. Graham noted the gain in English language arts was not large and could be better. In math, data showed significant growth, largely credited to intervention by Nicole Crouthamel. Growth among seventh and eighth graders was not as good as hoped. 

The area supervisor for DESE encouraged Graham to hire a third-party specialist for $20,000 to improve the numbers. The supervisor said growth of 1-2% annually added up over five years. 

Graham felt the district’s staff could find ways to make greater gains, and he planned to dive into what was being taught and how to find avenues for better success. Dalton said she planned to meet monthly with elementary teachers at planning time next year to review standards and ways to improve students reaching the proficiency levels. 

Summer school, starting at the end of May, had 90 enrollees to date, considered a good count, up from last year. 

The Purdy FFA Livestock Show was planned for July 18 in the FFA show barn.