How does the Mexico School District spend its money?

The Mexico School District and the Mexico Area Chamber of Commerce hosted “Let’s Talk Finance,” a community forum where the district shared where it gets its revenue, how funds are spent, and invited the community to share its opinions on its financial operations at Mexico Middle School on Feb. 9.

The conversation, led by Superintendent Troy Lentz, was aimed at parents of district students, business owners and community members in attendance and focused on operating funds. Among the crowd were Mexico School District Board of Education members who were there to listen to community concerns.

“I think any time you can get direct feedback from the public, it’s invaluable, and we had a good turnout here tonight and I’m looking forward to hearing what everybody has to say about school finances,” Mathew Pilger, board of education treasurer, said.

Rachel Lewis, a parent of three district students, attended the event because she will have two students attending MMS next fall and, as a former food service worker at Eugene Field Elementary, she wanted to learn more about how district funds were being spent.

“I didn’t realize how much it costs to run a school district,” Lewis said. “It’s not like a household budget — there’s a whole lot more to it than that.”

The Mexico School District’s policy on fund balances is to operate between 20% and 30%, but the district is still above 40%. Some of that money, Lentz said, is left over from federal COVID relief funding and the way to get back to that target fund balance is intentional deficit spending.

At the conclusion of the presentation, participants were asked to complete a four-question survey on where they rank the district’s priorities, what work they want to see beyond the 2024 bond work, how they think the additional funds should be spent and their support for the board of education’s fund balance policy.

Lewis said she ranked facilities, safety and security improvements as the district's No. 1 priority, but after the bond work is completed, the schools’ parking lots are at the top of her list.

“I deal with the school parking lots every day and they’re a mess,” she said.

Board member Jon Calhoun said parking has been the biggest complaint he’s heard all year.

“Parking is a big project for me,” he said. “Unfortunately, that’s not something that we can quickly turn around.”

Lewis ranked staff salary and benefits second.

“I am a manager at Mosers, and if we want top talent, we have to pay for that, and the school is the same way,” she said. “I agree that if we want the best teachers, and I want my kids to get a good education, we’re going to have to pay for that.”

According to the superintendent’s report in the Feb. 17 agenda for the Mexico School District Board of Education meeting, participants responded that salaries and benefits should be the district’s main priority, and there was support for deficit spending.

Lewis was among those and said she agreed with the board’s policy and wants to see the money spent, rather than just sitting in a bank, but some of it should be put towards non-certified staff, not just teachers with degrees.

“I want to make sure those non-certs — your custodians, your food service workers, the assistants, paraprofessionals, secretaries — are getting paid a livable wage because they are just as much a part of the community and just as much a part of a students’ day as anyone else,” she added.

In addition to the learning opportunity, Lewis said she attended “Let’s Talk Finance” to check out the new MMS addition and get a better sense of her community.

“I’m trying to get more involved in the community,” she said. “I’ve lived here for about three years and kind of have kept to myself and I’m trying to get out there a little bit more.”

Before coming to Mexico, Lewis’s children attended Wentzville Public Schools.

“My kids have blossomed in Mexico,” she said. “I like the smaller aspect of it. I feel like the teachers care more.”