Blair Oaks school board opposes Missouri school choice bill

Blair Oaks High School in Wardsville
Blair Oaks High School in Wardsville

The Blair Oaks R-2 School District Board of Education adopted a resolution Tuesday opposing a Missouri bill that would expand charter schools and change the distribution of state funds to schools.

Missouri Senate Bill 55, sponsored by state Sen. Cindy O'Laughlin, R-Shelbina, includes a list of provisions the Missouri School Boards' Association describes as "hostile to public education."

If the bill passes, it would allow any school district located within a charter county or any city with more than 30,000 people to have a charter school, funded partly by public school districts. Charter schools in Missouri are currently limited to St. Louis and Kansas City.

It would also create a school choice tax credit scholarship that would allow parents to use state tax-credit vouchers to pay a child's tuition at a private school, and it would turn the Missouri Virtual Instruction Program into virtual charter schools, which would cut resident school district and professional educators out of the process.

Blair Oaks Board Treasurer Tim Luebbering recommended the board adopt a student protection resolution opposing the bill to "sound the alarm." He said he wants to ensure the community is aware of the bill and knows the board opposes it.

The resolution, approved by the Missouri School Boards' Association, states "the board is opposed to private and for-profit companies educating or managing the education of students without the supervision of an elected, volunteer school board comprised of resident taxpayers of the district."

The board also opposes educational options where schools "receive public funds if the school is not required to enroll and educate all students or the school is allowed to selectively enroll, indirectly exclude students, counsel students who are difficult or costly to educate not to attend the school, or 'disenroll' students for academic reasons," according to the resolution.

The board also believes any school that receives public funds through a tax credit "must be held to the same accountability measures as public schools," and all state educational initiatives funded by public tax dollars should be governed and monitored by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the State Board of Education, the resolution states.

In other business Tuesday, the Blair Oaks school board approved work authorizations for the new high school, budget amendments for fiscal year 2021 and planning summer school.

Summer school is currently planned to begin June 2 and end around July 1.

The district's fines and forfeitures money and classroom trust funds decreased, but the state utility money and foundation formula increased, causing a net gain of approximately $47,000. The foundation formula increased because Gov. Mike Parson released some state withholdings, Superintendent Jim Jones said.

The district's operating budget still has about a $100,000 reduction in fund balances.

"We'll continue to monitor and make adjustments as we go," Jones said.

The work authorizations include two TVs, a minor upgrade to the basketball goals, and a loading dock leveler to bridge the gap between a truck and the loading area behind food services. The total cost of these authorizations is $5,514.

One TV will be in the cafeteria near the entry of the gymnasium. It will be a touch-screen TV used as a public display of information such as school records. This TV will be purchased by the Booster Club, and the district will pay for the wiring. The other TV will be used in the office area.