The North Callaway R-I School District Board of Education approved the 2025-26 tax rate - the same amount as last year - at its Aug. 21 meeting. Trustees approved the rate 6-0. Board member Travis Doerhoff was absent.

That amount is $4.9302 per $100 valuation. Broken down, that tax includes $4.0261 for operations and $0.9041 for debt service. Last year, the district had $0.4000 in the capital projects account, but that amount is not included this year, for multiple reasons.

“The biggest reason is related to the state SAT (State Adequacy Target) number and the fact that the governor’s budget will not fund $7,145 per student,” North Callaway Superintendent Kenya Thompson said. “We will be able to make a 7% transfer of state funds, so we don’t need the 40-cent transfer, so it will all go into operations, which helps us balance the budget.”

The district’s assessed valuation, which covers Boone, Callaway and Audrain counties, went up slightly this year from $141.2 million last year to $142.9 million. 

In the Curriculum and Assessment Report, Assistant Superintendent Niki Buschmann reported that high school science MAP testing numbers (38.6) exceeded the state average (37) and have been doing that for awhile, but she said high school ELA scores on MAP testing got close to state averages, with the district scoring 52.4 and the state average being 53. Third grade numbers in ELA (43.3)  and math (41.7) did exceed state averages (41 in both categories). She hasn’t remembered that happening in the recent past.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” she said.

The percentages show students scoring proficient or advanced compared to state averages. Many of the district scores were well below the state average. Buschmann said the district has seen “much bigger jumps” in math scores than the district has had in the past four years and that, “curriculum wise and just attention wise,” officials this year will do a little more intervention with math.

In her Superintendent’s Report, Thompson said the district has a “very lofty goal” this year in that it wants 90% of students attending 90% of the time.

“That is a big goal for every building,” she said. “So each building has come up with specific attendance strategies that I know we’re implementing from day one. They’re doing a great job so far with that.”

Her report included three other district goals for this school year: Increase the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced by 3% in each grade level and content area, increase the average parent response on the climate and culture survey item on regular school communication, and voluntarily retain 90% of employees. This will be the third consecutive year working toward this goal. 

Trustees took no action on buying furniture for the new elementary campus and the issue will be revisited this month, as Buschmann said in an email that district officials have time to do the additional research the board wants them to do without it affecting cost or timelines.