Purdy school board members approved a calendar for the coming school year at its Dec. 19 meeting.
The new calendar called for classes to begin on Aug. 19, 2025, and end on May 15, 2026. One major change will be earlier school start times. Elementary school will start at 8 a.m., and 8:10 a.m. for higher classes. Dismissal will begin at 3 p.m. for the elementary school and 3:15 p.m. for higher grades.
“Probably 90 percent of our kids are in the facility by 7:55 a.m.,” Superintendent Travis Graham said. “A lot of elementary classes do morning work. We want to maximize instructional minutes, so we’re making this slight adjustment. We want to let the community know early so they can resolve any challenges they may see.”
The district planned to stick with 169 days of classes. This would make Purdy eligible for a 1 percent incentive, providing extra funding for the coming school year.
Graham noted the district will not renew or extend its technology plan with K12itc. The current contract ends in December 2025. The district plans to seek funding through E-Rate Category 2 funds to build its own technology infrastructure. Approximately $112,000 is potentially available through E-Rate for the coming school year on an 80/20 grant basis. Replacing the entire technology infrastructure was estimated to cost $134,000, requiring $22,400 of local funds with an E-Rate grant.
Graham said the district had a five-year contract with K12itc, signed by his predecessor, which the board wanted to honor. With its expiration, he could pursue upgrading the district’s in-house resources and hire a new technology director from present staff, plus add a technology specialist to manage hardware and infrastructure.
Financial planning
Graham offered ideas on work for the second half of the school year. Priorities moving into the budget included meeting the state mandate to pay a base salary of $40,000 to teachers next school year, as well as increasing stipends for coaches.
In November the board approved contracts to replace 22 ground unit air conditioners. That leaves rooftop air conditioners serving the middle school, high school gym and the district office to address in the next three years.
Graham emphasized that paying for the higher teacher salaries without supplemental state money remains the district’s top financial priority. That’s why he and the board are looking at deferring maintenance, putting off replacing the rooftop air conditioners or considering a lease purchase.
“We want to remain competitive with teachers’ salaries,” Graham said. “We have a great supportive community. We want to honor them and make sure we’re good stewards of our funds.”
During the November board meeting, Steve Harner, from The CPA Group in Monett, presented an audit of the 202324 school year. He offered an unmodified opinion, seeing no problems. He noted the end balance of available funds was down 35 percent at the end of the year, in part due to facility improvements.
Graham said the dropoff of pandemic-era federal Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Act (ESSER) was the real source for the reduction in funds.
“We tried not to create positions [with federal funds] that we wouldn’t be stuck with after funding ended,” Graham said. “Three years ago in the 2021-22 school year, our reserves were 24.73 percent. Now it’s 23.69 percent.”
Annual Performance
Report
With the release of the Annual Performance Report (APR) by the state, Graham detailed its findings in a teacher newsletter, given to board members, rather than reviewing it publicly. Asked about its findings, Graham was upbeat.
“Our overall score was 80.8 percent, a slight increase over 80.5 percent last year. In 2022, we received 70.3 percent. We’re seeing gains on each component. On attendance, we got all the points. Overall, last year we had attendance of 92 percent. We’ve created a culture where kids want to be here.”
Student performance remains a bigger challenge. Graham noted 40 percent of the district’s students are English language learners, including a large number of additional students that school year classified as “newcomers” and not as ELL students. After discussions with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Graham said the district learned better how to categorize the student population to better reflect the situation and make sure appropriate services are in place.
Personnel action
During the board’s November meeting, a retirement letter was submitted by business teacher Kay Wright, who has served the district for 37 years. Glenn Terry, a 29-year district employee, announced his retirement as director of operations at the end of the school year. Ashley Vaught was tapped for duties as girls basketball coach for fourth and fifth grades, and assistant coach at the high school.
At the December meeting, the board hired Jennifer Kellogg-Andrus as a science teacher. In 2022 Kellogg-Andrus retired after teaching science at the Watertown School District in South Dakota.
Looking ahead to the legislative session, Graham reported lawmakers had already filed more than 200 bills, a tally expected to double by the time the General Assembly convenes in January. He indicated open enrollment, a parent’s right to know, and parents’ rights would likely all become hot topics next session.
