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Reeds Spring R‑IV board appoints Jessica Eckerley, approves assessments and new student programs
Summary
At a May post-board update, the REEDS SPRING R‑IV board tapped Jessica Eckerley to fill a vacancy and approved interim assessments (STAR and Renaissance DNA), a Special Olympics stipend, a youth-soccer coordinator stipend, and participation in an assessment pilot while noting cybersecurity and state-tax risks.
The moderator of the Reeds Spring R‑IV board’s May post-meeting update announced that the board selected Jessica Eckerley to fill the seat vacated by Gordon Weathers’s resignation and highlighted a series of approvals aimed at student supports and instruction.
The update said the board "selected Jessica Eckerley as our newest board member" and praised her community ties and that she "got kids in the district." It listed multiple approvals: new curriculum resources in social studies and foreign language; adoption of district interim assessments using STAR for reading and math and Renaissance DNA for PLC data; approval to participate in a pilot of the Student Ready Success Network (referred to in the meeting as SRSA/SRSN) to move from one-time MAP/EOC testing to multiple benchmark assessments at the elementary level; a 10% stipend (recorded as $4,352) for a newly posted Special Olympics Unified Championship coordinator; and a 12.5% stipend for a youth-soccer coordinator to expand youth athletics.
The moderator framed the assessment changes as part of the district’s strategic plan to use data to drive instruction and professional learning, saying the district wants "data that will demonstrate whether or not we're making that progress." The board approved the curriculum resources and assessment tools at the meeting; the record shows the actions as approved but no roll-call vote was recorded in the update.
On student supports, the board heard an update from Mr. Noonan on the district’s partnership with Care to Learn/Care for Kids (also called Together for Kids). The presentation said year-one fundraising has generated about $80,000 to support food distribution, a food pantry and emergency assistance for families who cannot afford essentials.
The moderator also warned about a nationwide Canvas cybersecurity incident, saying the campus "decided to pay them to get the data released" and that district staff believe "very minimal" student data was impacted; the update emphasized that no district systems were infiltrated and advised vigilance for phishing and spoofing emails.
Fiscal and external risks were a theme: the moderator described a potential statewide tax change to remove the state income tax and shift revenue to a sales tax, and discussed Senate Bill 3 (a 2024 statute) that freezes residential property-tax growth (options include a 0% or 5% cap). The speaker said residential property taxes account for roughly 60–70% of the district’s revenue base and noted county commissioners had paused placing the measure on an August ballot; the moderator said the statute is being litigated and could reach the Missouri Supreme Court within 6–12 months.
Facilities and personnel items included a central-office project for which bid openings were scheduled the next week and confirmation the project will remain within an approved budget, and notice that contracts and salary letters would be distributed to staff the following week.
The update closed with praise for the district’s Vision 2030 strategic-review work led at building level by Dr. Kite, encouragement for summer-school participants, and a reminder the board will reconvene next month.
What’s next: the district will distribute stay-survey results to staff, proceed with bid review for the central-office project, post the Special Olympics coordinator job, and monitor the SRSA/SRSN pilot and ongoing legal challenges over property-tax measures and state accountability actions.
