Lisa Simpkins, identified in board remarks as the district’s chief human resources officer, presented a two‑part staffing plan for the 2026–27 school year and told the Francis Howell R‑III board the district will hold some positions until revenue is clearer.

"We are asking you to approve the positions we already currently have, that we're already utilizing so that we can start the bulk of the staffing work," Simpkins said during the Jan. 8 work session. She described part 1 as a status‑quo plan with several positions placed on hold and said part 2 would release those positions in June if the budget allows.

The presentation tied staffing choices to the district’s strategic pillars and to state guidance. Simpkins said the district must begin recruiting in March to attract qualified candidates, but that "over 80% of our budget is salary and benefits," making personnel the largest lever for savings if revenue falls.

As presented, the district would hold about 7.76 positions under part 1 to preserve budget flexibility. Simpkins listed several options for reallocating held positions if revenue is available, including creating eight secondary instructional‑coach roles, increasing content‑leader days, adding a counseling content leader, creating three special‑education teacher positions at high schools, and adding process coordinators to support IEP paperwork at elementary and middle schools.

Simpkins also walked the board through class‑size charts and said the plan aims to keep elementary and secondary averages near or below the midpoint of Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) guidance. "Our plan includes a student to classroom teacher ratio of 21.66 at middle school and 23.38 at high school," she said.

Board members asked for additional detail on special‑area minutes (music, art and physical education); administrators said Dr. Garland will convene a committee in February to study minutes and consistency between buildings. The board also pressed administration about bus‑driver staffing: Simpkins said the district began the 2025–26 year budgeted for 152 bus drivers but now operates with 145 and that the seven vacant positions will not be shown as FTEs going forward.

A central‑office deputy position was explicitly held vacant in the plan until the budget is clearer. Simpkins described the choice to leave one deputy unfilled as a way to avoid recruiting someone into a role that could be cut the following year.

The discussion repeatedly returned to Senate Bill 3 (SB3), pending ballot measures and potential legal challenges. Simpkins said the district will make hold/release decisions based on revenue projections tied to that legislation. "If we experience a $4,000,000 reduction due to Senate bill 3, potentially passing, is there any way to cut $4,000,000... without affecting teachers or staff?" a board member asked. Simpkins replied that to reach that level of savings the district would likely need to include staffing-related changes and that administrators would attempt to rely on attrition where possible.

On costs, Simpkins told the board holding the identified positions would yield approximately $727,000 in savings and noted the district will eliminate a temporary content‑leader stipend worth $10,000. She also said more than 20 teachers have notified the district of plans to retire at the end of the school year, and that the district typically hires about 100 new teachers annually.

The board did not vote on the staffing plan during the work session; administration said part 1 will be brought to the regular Jan. 15 meeting for approval and part 2 would be considered in June if revenue allows.

The work session included multiple requests from board members for follow‑up data — for example, exact counts of sections at or above the DESE midpoint and an itemized calculation of bus‑driver salary savings — which administrators agreed to provide before the Jan. 15 vote.