The Worth County School Board, at its regular meeting Wednesday, accepted the retirement of Karen Andrews. She had taught at the school for the last 20 years.
The Career Technical Education program was rated as “Excellent.” The strengths included the following:
—The school added a plasma table with an enhancement grant;
—The school got a new 3D printer and hat press for the program;
—The school purchased a new skid loader and trailer for the program;
—Many opportunities exist for students to take courses that prepare them for careers in technical fields.
Concerns listed included the need for opportunities for students to take all the coursework, which is limited by the daily schedule. Other concerns listed included staff time as well as funding.
The media services program was rated as “Above Average.” Strengths included increased book circulation, learning and library childrens’ space, selections for older students, identification of materials for addition to the collection, the awards and incentives, and the summer reading program. Concerns listed include the appearance and organization of the library.
The board voted to declare three iMAC Silver computers purchased in 2022 and one iMAC Blue computer purchased in 2023 as surplus property. Interested parties can bid on the computers until December 19th, 2025 at 3 pm.
Elementary Principal Amber Hawk reported that participation rates for parent/teacher conferences were 91% or better for each class. Overall attendance was 98%.
First, second, and Ms. Steele’s third grade had 100% participation on the October reading incentive.
For Halloween, PK through 3rd grade walked to the Worth County Care & Rehab Center to show off their costumes.
All elementary students participated in the Veterans Day program by leading everyone in the Pledge and singing patriotic songs. Artwork was displayed in the hallways.
The winners of the October attendance challenge were the second graders and the sixth graders with a 97.74% attendance rate.
Mason Hern won the Lions Club Peace Poster contest.
The Book Fair will be from December 1st through 5th at the Library.
Various elementary basketball teams are using the multipurpose room after school for practices.
Winners of the Red Ribbon Week Healthy Bingo drawing were Gianna Morin, Lillyann O’Grady, Betty Fletchall, Elizabeth Smith, Maddyx Claypool, Kaine Stephenson, Elsie Jenkins, Addison Cass, Leah Combs, and Mason Steele.
The Kindness Club made handmade Thanksgiving placemats for the Worth County Care & Rehab Center and Orilla’s Way.
Nicki Tracy received $1,000 as part of Mosaic’s Advanced Practice Provider Week for her Dive Into Reading program. She will purchase books for PK through 6th grade students to take home.
Preschool has been exploring the world of community helpers. They took a field trip to the Grant City Square.
Superintendent Chris Healy gave an update on the work of the Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force. The task force is led by Governor Mike Kehoe and State Senator Rusty Black. Four work groups are working on recommendations for the 2026 legislative session.
The group is reviewing the State Adequacy Target, which currently uses data from the 2004-2005 school year. Early calculations show a possible SAT range of $10,000 to $13,500 per student, up from the current level of $7,145 per student. However, the state has already mentioned not being able to fund the $7,145 amount for the current school year, so an increase to this amount is difficult to project and forecast.
Previously, Mr. Healy told the Express that the school could lose as much as $400,000 per year if the Hold Harmless clause is removed and nothing were to replace it. Based on October 2025 figures, the school receives around $531 per student more due to the Hold Harmless Clause, which would mean a shortfall of $160,000 if nothing were to replace it. The school would have to receive a State Adequacy Target of around $9,200 to break even if Hold Harmless is eliminated.
The group is recommending a shift from attendance-based funding to enrollment-based funding. They are also proposing removal of threshold-based weighting, which takes into account free and reduced lunch and special education students. Both changes would negatively impact small districts. Worth County’s higher than average attendance rate benefits them under the current model. They receive weighted funding because they exceed all threshold levels.
The current formula uses 2004-05 property valuations for local effort calculations. The group is exploring methods to update valuations periodically so that it reflects current local capacity. The Performance group is examining ways to tie less than 1% of state funding to measurable improvement indicators.
Mr. Healy said that while early simulations do not indicate an immediate financial crisis for the district, significant concerns remain. Other schools would be affected a lot more by the elimination of Hold Harmless. The key question is how much of the school funding will come from state revenue versus local revenue. “We must continue to advocate for reliable, adequate funding for Missouri’s public schools. The trend of increased legislative requirements paired with declining revenue is unsustainable. Proposed formula changes will likely require additional dada collection and reporting at a time when districts are also working to raise teacher salaries to remain competitive,” said Mr. Healy in his written comments.
The school currently receives only 28% of its revenue from the state, making Missouri 50th out of 50 nationally for school funding. All changes will take effect for the 2027-28 school year if approved by the Missouri Legislature.
End of Course assessment scores improved by one point compared to 2024 assessments. Students performed above the state average in Math, English/Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. The school received 100% of its continuous improvement points.
The board renewed its insurance with MUSIC with an increase of about 5.5%. The board approved an upgrade to the fire alarm system with Superior Fire & Security for $14,753.
The next board meeting will be December 17th at 6 pm.
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