The St. James School District Board of Education convened on Wednesday, June 24 for its monthly meeting.

The Board began the meeting by recognizing the district's spring athletes for their accomplishments. Other presentations included: Dr. Williams shared the district's career ladder report, Ashley Lind and Misty Hutchcraft gave an intervention presentation, and librarian Cheryl Harlan provided the annual library review. Lastly, the District was excited to accept a $6,000 grant from Phelps County Bank to support students and educational programs throughout the district. 

Vice President Wes Gahr made a motion to approve the consent agenda, including the May 20, 2026, regular board meeting minutes, June P-Card, warrants, addendum, the 2026-27 Dyslexia Plan, Assessment Plan, KVC contract, Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Plan, and Comprehensive District Literacy Plan. Board Member Melanie Davis seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

During the discussion portion of the meeting, the board addressed funding for the School Resource Officer (SRO) program. The City of St. James has budgeted $41.41 per hour, or $64,599 annually, for the SRO position in fiscal year 2027. City officials noted that while the city's budgeted cost has increased, the school has continued to be invoiced at the unchanged rate of $33 per hour since the 2023-24 school year.

The board also discussed concerns regarding the recently resurfaced track after weeds and grass were found emerging through sections of the new surface during a recent inspection. Officials said the amount of vegetation growth so soon after the project was completed was unexpected and could indicate issues with installation quality, base preparation or weed control measures. Representatives from the company that completed the project have visited the site and are evaluating the situation to determine how the problem will be resolved.

"In 31 years of being in business, they (the track company) have never seen this before, so they need some time to problem solve," Superintendent Tim Webster said.

In action items, the board unanimously approved the Alternative Methods of Instruction (AMI) application, Continuous School Improvement Plan (CSIP), Emergency Operations Plan, preliminary 2025-26 year-to-date balances, 2026-27 salary schedules, and the proposed 2026-27 budget.

Before the budget vote, Webster discussed the financial challenges facing Missouri school districts.

"You have to know from me or from turning on the TV that school financing in the state of Missouri right now is at a rough time," Webster said. "We did see large cuts from where we receive a lot of our state financial aid. The Prop C fund is also falling short. We are seeing some shortfalls in ECSE and then, as expected, we took about a $75,000 hit from Title this year as well."

Despite those challenges, Webster said the district remains in a position to absorb the projected deficit.

"There is plenty to be doom and gloom about, but the reality of the situation is the Board of Education was asked tonight to approve a budget that has a $552,000 shortfall," Webster said. "With a half million dollars in debt just to pay our bills next year, we are very thankful to be sitting on some balances that we can take that cost on this school year."