The Gasconade County R-2 Board of Education on Oct. 24 discussed ways to better communicate with the R-2 community its needs and successes.

“Is the auditorium off the table?” asked Board of Education Director Keith Glaser during a retreat meeting on Oct. 24 at the White Mule.

“That’s up to the community,” said Superintendent Dr. Jeri Kay Hardy. “Or do we renovate the current space?”

The district’s list of needs was shared with voters twice over the last two years when they requested a no-tax-increase bond issue to pay for building maintenance costs and updates. While the board chose not to run the request for a third year in a row in 2025, they realize they will need to run another ballot request sometime in the next three years.

“It feels like we need to take a step back and share what we need,” said Glenn Ely, R-2 board president. “There is a disconnect between why there is a need and how to successfully fulfill the district’s needs within the legal requirements.”

Ely suggested a bullet-pointed list to the community: “here’s what it takes; here’s the decisions we’ve made; how disadvantaged rural schools are in a state that doesn’t support local schools.”

“We disproportionately feel the cuts,” Ely said. “How do we share those needs in a way we can navigate? What classes and activities have value? It’s expensive. It’s an investment.”

Disadvantaged Rural School Districts Need Local Support for 51 Percent of Funding

“When we talk about the disadvantages of rural schools, 51 percent of funding is on local taxes,” Hardy said.

Extremely poor districts receive more grants. Gasconade County R-2 is not poor enough.

“The community supports our needs, but the state requires where the money is spent,” Hardy said. “Our school is the hub of our community.”

The board revisited a few of the loudest community concerns regarding the list of needs it presented. One of those concerns was understanding who decided the project list was a need.

When? How?

“We need another long-range planning committee and from local groups and organizations,” Hardy said. “If there is anyone you think would be interested, send me those emails, and I will reach out to them.”

The previous long-range facility planning committee met and toured all of the campus buildings in the fall of 2022. The list was presented to the board and rated based on need.

Communicating with Community

“We need to start having a discussion on when the next bond should run,” Hardy said.

Ely said the district has created a good cadence of communication. Hardy believes the district’s goals and brand would be better served with a position that speaks directly to the community, addressing concerns.

“I think we’ve had a lot of good outreach and surveys. To some extent, we’ve had one piece of the conversation in reaching out to the community,” Ely said. “To have that conversation, I think we’ve created a good cadence of communication and we are responsible for managing those expenses. There needs to be a clear understanding of the diligence that is behind some of the decision-making that we have that allows us to be in a better spot than others. There are a lot of challenges that disproportionately affect rural schools.”

Director Kari Nolting said she agrees that over time the board has done a great job managing the finances.

“But when you say we need to lean on the side of trying to find a way to communicate these things, why these decisions need to be made now before we start making ballot decisions,” Nolting broke off. “I think I am just struggling to see your train of thought.”

Ely said maybe looking out at the next five to seven years and discussing what the operating costs will look like.

“I think what you’re going to see is the operating (cost) is a bit above what we can manage,” Ely said. “The think there are two things:

The tax levy is one part. I think everybody knows the debt side of it. We don’t have a defined commitment to our teachers. WE don’t have a defined commitment to our maintenance capital. If we were to define what that is, I think we need to know what that is.

“Then there’s the visibility. We are moving the conversation around from debt to this is the necessary things we need to have in place for our students and staff. This is what we need to have in place in order to support our facilities.

“Then, here’s some things, we need to look at where the world’s at. Let’s say career tech. Everybody knows we need more electricians and carpenters. We know we need the trades and it’s not even a conversation. But we’re not able to do that. We also know the world we live in, there’s more need for critical thinking around humanities and sciences — expanding things that grow kids in a way that they have an interest they can be successful in. How many kids are participating in this extracurricular activity or this club? It shows where their interests are. If there is an interest aligning to a career path, are we doing our due diligence to help support? I’m not advocating, but one of those tal s we had was around theatre. Unbelievable and that was super exciting.”

Ely said to think of the school as a community.

“As they grow, what amenities do they layer on when they grow?” He asked. “In some ways, we are adding opportunities to our school just like a community would. Expanding opportunities and amenities. It’s a discussion that should be up there with our financial obligations and being able to articulate that with the community.”

Ely said they should be up front with the community about the complexities around SB 727 which will mandate an increase in teachers’ salaries without providing more funds to fulfill the obligation. The district should communicate why new and expanding subjects are important to their students.

“If we don’t, we’re going to get lost in the shuffle,” Ely said.

Hardy thought a communications director would assist the district in communicating the needs of the district and the opportunities the students want.

“If we are going to effectively tell our stories, we need someone with that education level,” Hardy said.