Wentzville R‑IV board rejects resolution opposing school vouchers after split vote

The Wentzville R‑IV Board of Education voted down a proposed resolution addressing school vouchers after a divided discussion and a 3–3 roll call tie.

Board members debated whether adopting a public statement on vouchers fell within the board’s authority or whether it belonged to the state legislature and voters. Ted House, a board member identified by the board during the meeting, said he drafted the version under consideration and described his reasons for presenting it to the full board: “I took what I saw that they had written. I had written a previous one a couple months ago, and wanted to add to it.”

The exchange included substantive objections to the resolution’s language and to the process used to introduce it. One board member, speaking during discussion but not identified by name in the transcript, said the resolution contained “lots of undocumented statements” and announced, “I will not vote for it, and I will not sign it.” Another board member urged more internal workshopping before adopting a public resolution, noting that “usually, when we do board resolutions, we come up with it as a board, talk about it as a board, have more than 24 hours to review it.”

Speakers also debated alternatives to vouchers. A board member argued the district could expand public options such as open enrollment, pointing to other districts that allow students to enroll across schools as a way to serve students in “failing” schools without diverting public funds. Another member said recent legislative action and earmarked funds — described during the meeting as about $50,000,000 for private-school programs — motivated bringing a resolution forward now.

After a motion, members called the question and held a roll call. Votes were recorded as: Dr. Lewis — Nay; President Scott — Aye; Dr. Henke — Nay; Secretary Biesenthal — Aye; Dr. Olsen — Nay; Dr. Wei — Aye. The tie vote produced the outcome “failed.”

The board recorded no direction to staff to implement policy changes; members instead discussed scheduling a workshop to consider how and when the board should take public positions on state-level legislation. The meeting moved on after the vote to unrelated agenda items.

Why it matters: The vote signals that the Wentzville R‑IV board will not issue the proposed statement opposing vouchers at this time, but the discussion highlighted broader questions about the board’s role in public policy debates, the need for internal review of board resolutions, and local options such as open enrollment that board members discussed as alternatives.

What’s next: Board members suggested placing the issue on a future workshop agenda for more thorough review and possible redrafting before any future vote.