W.S. School Board discusses HB 711 & non-resident tuition

The Willow Springs School Board of Education discussed board policy, non-resident tuition rates, and a open enrollment law in the state legislature during their March 10 meeting. The board also approved a calendar for the 2025-2026 school year, and that topic is covered in a separate article. Board member Jeff Lovan was absent from the meeting. 

 

The meeting opened with approval of the consent agenda. As part of this, Superintendent Dr. Marty Spence was asked for more information about the hiring of a maintenance position by member Matt Hobson. Dr. Spence said this position covers servicing all of the school's HVAC units and electrical units. This is to replace Mike Bailey, who is retiring at the end of the current school year. With the approval of the consent agenda, seven teacher, two coordinator, and one custodian resignations; one reassignment; three substitutes; and the hiring for the maintenance position was approved. This makes for a total twenty-one resignations since the start of the 2024-2025 school year. 

 

Board President Mac Gum reviewed school board policy with the members. Here, he went over the Board Operational Goals. These cover six principles that the board should be seeking to achieve. The first is to interpret the educational needs and aspirations of the community and formulate policies and programs which stimulate the students and the learning processes. “Do we do that?” asked Gum, “Not as much as we need to, for sure. We're open to hearing that. We say we are, but are we actively seeking that information? I'd be the first to say I don't think we're doing that the way we should.”

 

Next, he spoke on operating the school district through sound fiscal management, based upon the adopted budget. The board decided to start having finance committee meetings one hour prior to the school board meetings in an attempt to have all board members attend. The board approved this unanimously.

 

Dr. Spence proposed the district to raise the non-resident tuition rates by $1,000. This would increase the current rate from $7,000 to $8,000. According to the superintendent, area schools that accept rural students have agreed to set their rates at $8,000. This does not include the West Plains district, which has a non-resident tuition rate of $9,500. Currently in the Willow Springs district, there are 38 students who are non-residents. These students come from Richards, Glenwood, Junction Hill, Fairview, and Howell Valley. The board approved this increase unanimously. 

 

The board discussed how House Bill 711 would affect the district if it becomes law. HB 711 passed the Missouri House of Representatives on March 12 and has been presented to the Senate for approval. The bill would establish the Public School Open Enrollment Act and greatly change how non-resident students enroll in a district. The bill states that the maximum number of outgoing transfer students is 3% of the previous school year's enrollment but, according to Dr. Spence, this number is expected to be increased by later bills. Should the bill pass, it would make the non-resident tuition rate passed by the board a moot point. There are particular rules that students must to meet before applying to a different district and, with the exception of incoming freshmen, high school students who transferred districts would not be allowed to participate in interscholastic athletics during their first year of enrollment. Dr. Spence gave a number of concerns this bill would have for the district, including the loss of taxpayer money, parent involvement, and community support. He also spoke on how this would make a financial planning nightmare, making each year uncertain of the funding they would receive, how the “voluntary” participation would affect the district, and further eroding local control. 

 

The Willow Springs School District will hold their next board of education meeting on April 8.