Purdy school officials this fall have moved into the final phases of a multi-year effort to improve facilities around and adjacent to the school campus.

Superintendent Travis Graham said the effort to catch up on deferred maintenance has now focused on replacing the heating and air conditioning units on the roof of the school, dating back some 20-30 years. That effort should wrap up by the end before winter sets in.

The board’s budget for the yearisusing$300,000leftfrom the Biden Administration’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund to help districts out of the COVID pandemic.

“When we passed our last bond issue, we renovated the commons area and the cafeteria, the main kitchen area, upgraded the lighting and painted,” Graham said. “We did a lot of interior painting over the summer. We’ve converted the T8 and T12 light bulbs to LED. The newer areas are now all LED. Crews are now going down the high school hallway and swapping out lights. With those upgrades, we should see an energy savings.

“Over the summer we converted the [high school] gym to LED. The new lights will automatically shut off after 10 minutes, and come on when people enter.”

Over the summer, crews also made changes to the school entrances to heighten security. A new security door has been added inside the east entrance to the administration offices. Graham noted the district added 85 cameras. That followed a break-in two years ago that led to a thorough investigation that secured funds from the perpetrators for restoration.

At the end of summer, three teens apparently found an outer door unlatched and gained access to the school around 3 a.m. They appeared to stay about 12 minutes, played basketball in the gym and departed without causing any damage. Graham said cameras showed unknown faces.

“Over the last four years, we’ve upgraded the play structures for kids from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade. [Last month], we were waiting for fencing to finish upgrades on collections combined, Monett’s receipts for 2024 show a gain of nearly $238,000, or 5 percent, over 2023.

Seligman’s 1 percent sales tax paying general bills produced $11,889.87, a gain of $2,531.60 for the month, the third gain in five months. So far in 2024, Seligman’s four sales taxes and its use tax have brought in nearly $28,000, or 9 percent, more than a year ago Washburn held nearly even with last year. Its 1 percent general fund tax yielded $2,682.34, down $63.46 from a year ago. While Washburn’s general fund collections are up nearly $2,700 for the year, the city’s use tax, now in its 14th month, has added nearly $29,000 to city offers, boosting revenues for the year by 20 percent.

Purdy’s 1 percent sales tax received $4,134.54 in October, down $2,117.81 from a year ago, the third drop in four months. That put the 2024 total for Purdy’s three taxes ahead of last year by more than $2,600.

Wheaton, where the half-cent sales tax for transportation produced 46 percent of what the 1 percent tax did in October, a generally typical trend, the 1 percent general fund tax generated $5,096.17. That was down $864.70 from a year ago. Wheaton’s two sales taxes, plus the use tax that kicked in during 2024, set receipts for the calendar year ahead of last year by almost $350.

Exeter saw receipts from its 1 percent general fund tax drop for only the second time in seven months, bringing in $2,206.34, down $499.25 from a year ago. That put receipts for 2024 ahead of last year by $7,110, or 32 percent.

Countywide tax collections dropped, but not enough to erase gains from the September distribution. Barry County’s two sales taxes supporting its general fund combined for a total of $279,882.83, down $18,547.84, or 9 percent, from a year ago. Barry County’s four sales taxes and its use tax, which has been very productive in 2024, combined have grown by more than $647,000, or 7.5 percent, from a year ago.

The separate .375 percent tax going to the Barry County Emergency Services Board to pay for central dispatching and 911 services received $167,930.13 in October, down $11,113.49 from last October. Receipts for the year are still running $21,730, or 1 percent ahead of 2023.