WS R-IV announces “critical” budget outlook
Tue, 08/12/2025 - 1:19pm
admin
Breaking: Superintendent to step down
By:
Amanda Mendez, publisher
SCHOOL BOARD DECLINES TO COMMENT: Alongside the superintendent’s letter, the Willow Springs R-IV Board of Education released a 54-word statement, stating in its entirety, “The Willow Springs Board of Education has become aware that the financial outlook of the district is more critical than previously indicated. The district is currently working with an outside consultant to ascertain an accurate accounting of district finances. As we navigate these challenges, the education of our students will remain our primary focus.”
After School Board President Mac Gum declined a request for an interview on August 7, Howell County News contacted every school board member to request a comment. Every board member declined to comment on the record, citing a desire to communicate as a cohesive unit, not as individuals.
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: On August 12, at 11:19 a.m., the School Board made the following announcement: "The Willow Springs R IV School Board has received a statement from Superintendent Dr. Marty Spence that he will not be seeking a contract extension. Dr Spence will fulfill his current contract which ends June 30, 2026."
It appears the Willow Springs R-IV School District is in financial peril.
So perilous, in fact, that school officials warned patrons of coming financial cuts and likely job losses. A letter from Superintendent Dr. Marty Spence announced the need to, “reduce several positions for the 2025-2026 school year.” The Aug. 5 letter cited funding levels that, “no longer support” the spending of recent years.
As previously reported by Howell County News, spending in the district has been a conversation since January 2025, when independent auditor Kenny Thomas said, "If we repeat this process, you're gonna be hurting pretty fast."
The board had just heard the district showed a net decrease in funds of over $1.2 million and a six percent decrease in the unrestricted fund balance in the audit of the 2024 fiscal year. However, in February the board approved a revised audit after moving federal COVID money from one fund to another.
“We decided that it would have been more prudent for the district to put that $900,000 in the general and teachers fund rather than put it into the capital projects fund, where it's going to end up just sitting there,” said Thomas in February. “What we've done is take the $900,000 back and used it to pay for your guidance counselor, your tech, and some elementary salaries in the teachers’ fund and general fund, which were being paid with unrestricted funds.”
This change bumped the unrestricted fund balance to 19%. As of this week, that balance is projected to be around five percent. The state of Missouri requires a three percent unrestricted fund balance.
“There was expectation of state and federal revenue that would help us in FY25 avoid this current position,” Spence wrote to Howell County News in an email.
In last week’s letter, Spence refers to declining enrollment as a factor in lower-than-expected revenue. The state funding formula is based partly on enrollment. Spence did not elaborate in detail which funding sources, specifically, failed to materialize, but replied, “The FY25 shortfall was due to lower Basic Formula funding and delayed federal reimbursements, and while state funding amounts have increased, the state funding formula itself hasn't changed in decades.”
What to cut?
It remains unclear whether position reduction will mean firing district employees or simply salary attrition. Spence told the News that the district will not fill certain positions as they become vacant, which is also known as salary attrition. He added, however, “We will be looking at other opportunities to reduce spending.” When pressed on what “other opportunities,” means, Spence replied, “We're reviewing all ways to cut costs.”
Many of the district’s 200 employees are under contract for the 2025-2026 school year, meaning the district would have to buy out those contracts to terminate those positions. Among these contracts are the district’s fourteen administrators, eight of whom were offered contracts in March 2025. These include Chris Rodgers, elementary principal, Logan Schwalm, asst. elementary principal, Jon Johnson, middle school principal, Chris Cochran, assistant middle school principal, Nick Schmitt, high school principal, Dustin Forrest, assistant high school principal, Robert James, Athletic Director, and Chris Waggoner, curriculum director.
At the administrative level, the school also employs special education director, Barbara Medina, as well as a food service director in Regina Roberts, a CTE director Josh Owens, a safety director Jeff Cunningham, a technology director Andrew Coursen, and of course, the superintendent himself.
Dr. Spence was offered his current contract in January 2022, and to date, this contract has not been renewed by the board.
Faulty Data
More than any single revenue shortfall, Dr. Spence’s mea culpa in last Tuesday's letter has been the source of considerable speculation.
“As superintendent, I’ve made errors in financial forecasting and communication with the Board of Education. The Board can only act on data I provide, and my data was faulty. As superintendent of this district, it is my responsibility to manage the budget and communicate that data. I have fallen short in this area,” said Spence in the Aug. 5 letter.
Spence told the News that he takes, “full responsibility for presenting inaccurate data to the board,” and denies that the board of education has been complicit in the confusion.
“While multiple factors contributed to our financial situation, the board has consistently asked for and expected accurate reporting. No board member has ever asked me to withhold or manipulate information,” Spence said in an email to the News.
The faulty data was, “a mistake with no intent to conceal,” he asserts.
“I had been sharing data with the board using a recommended cash flow model for the last few board meetings. That model showed a drop in our unrestricted fund balance to 17%. In reality, the drop was closer to five percent,” Spence explained, and expanded in a follow-up, “I used the Missouri school cash-flow projection tool, which forecasts trends, and some data did not accurately reflect the annual expectation.”
As recently as the June meeting of the school board, Spence’s budget message to the board was optimistic, and he said, “As a reminder to everybody kind of where we're at -- 20% is our goal. Last year FY24, we were at 19%. We're going to be around 17% this year, and then we'll be back up above 20% in FY26 largely due to salary attrition and avoid avoiding large capital projects.”
In a brief statement the school board announced that the district is “working with,” and presumably paying for, an outside consultant to, “ascertain an accurate accounting of district finances.”
Spence’s letter and the school board statement were sent via email to parents, posted on the school’s website, and shared to social media. Spence confirmed he did not release the statement directly to any member of the press but has, “certainly been open about communicating the message to all interested parties.”
“Our commitment is to keep you informed every step of the way,” read’s Tuesday’s letter. “Together, with transparency and care, we will move forward and ensure the long term health of our schools.”
Currently serving on the school board are Mac Gum, president, Matt Hobson, vice president, Brent Colley, Adam Webb, Scott Foster, Meagan Jones, and Roger Shanks.
The school board met on Monday, August 11 after press time. Coverage of questions posed to the board and more on Spence's resignation will appear in the August 20 edition of Howell County News.
Correction: The print version of this sidebar incorrectly said President Gum declined an interview on August 14. That conversation took place on August 7.