NEVC lauds reps for killing bad tax bill

WALKER -- The 96th Missouri General Assembly ended May 13 without passing any legislation detrimental to Northeast Vernon County Schools, but potentially damaging proposals were debated that area representatives will be watching for when they reconvene next January, Superintendent Charles Naas said.

Naas told NEVC board members that one bill would have reclassified sawmills and a range of other businesses from commercial to agricultural or residential and reduced the tax base of schools.

He added Thursday night that some legislators want to divert money from public school districts to fund private schools and home school programs.

Explaining the reclassification issue was broached at the behest of Scholastic Inc. of Jefferson City, which publishes schoolbooks and other educational materials, Naas said, "If they succeed, it would lay the precedent for others to change.

"While this may seem insignificant, it'll carry a lot of weight if it passes. There is also a big push to take revenue of ours and give it to the private schools and home schools."

Naas said State Rep. Barney Fisher, R-Horton, and Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, gave crucial backing on those and other concerns. "They supported pretty much everything education-wise for us," he said.

The superintendent said the legislature's school appropriations "were flatlined" from last year's, which he found favorable in light of early year predictions they might be cut.

He said NEVC is scheduled to receive about $1,084,000 from the state through the end of this school year. Naas reported getting the same federal Title 1 funding as last year, $112,000, for math, reading and pre-school.

He said NEVC's 15 graduating seniors won $104,870 in scholarships.

In other business, board members heard High School Principal Chris Hudson of Walker say their recent approval of extending the 2011-'12 school day may necessitate upgrading the curriculum.

Hudson said having eight periods instead of seven could see students completing graduation requirements by the end of their junior year. She said the panel chaired by Robert Fox Jr. may thereby have to view raising the core requirements of four English credits and three each of science and mathematics, along with electives, and requiring 27 or 28 credits rather than the current 24.

Naas backed Hudson, saying, "As far as i'm concerned, it's better."

Elementary School Principal Kendall Ogburn said his Schell City enrollment had grown from 124 to 129 and he had sent letters to the parents of 41 students, recommending the kids attend summer school for 60 hours of remedial instruction in reading and math from May 31 to June 17.

Resignations were accepted from vocational agriculture teacher Chris Dryer, who has accepted a contract at El Dorado Springs, and high school English teacher Jill Robertson, who is leaving for McDonald County Schools at the southwest tip of the state.