Palmyra R-1 School District Regular Board Meeting Press Release
The Palmyra R-1 Board of Education met in regular session on Tuesday, February 17th at 6:30 p.m. in the Palmyra R-1 Boardroom. The board heard a report from the wrestling program. Coach Huffman, Coach Williamson, and Coach Hutchings brought members of both the girls and boys wrestling programs to talk about the season and the benefits of participation in the wrestling program. Palmyra R-1 School Nurses, Morgan Hoewing and Jennifer Jones, gave a report on school health services. They went through the various duties and responsibilities of being a school nurse.
Combined, they have had well over 4,000 office visits this year. The principals gave building reports, and Superintendent Jason Harper gave a legislative update.
The Board discussed multiple capital projects that will be completed by the end of the year. Bond money will be used for completion of the tennis courts at the high school and the elementary playground. Heimer Construction will lay an aggregate base in early March, followed by forming the courts in April with the concrete pour occurring in early May. The playground planning is still underway. Mrs. Augspurg has worked with students and staff to create a priority list for the playground, and the board discussed options for surfacing, fencing, and playground equipment. The playground
should be completed in June.
The Board discussed the tuckpointing needs at Palmyra Middle School. There are significant needs in tuckpointing areas such as the gym, the west walls, and some areas on the east side of the building. This would also include sealing the building, and caulking windows. Superintendent Harper also discussed the deterioration of the bleachers at the old football field. They are deteriorating rapidly and are becoming a safety issue. Pricing for tuckpointing the bleachers and restoring them could cost between $250,000 and $350,000 with an annual cost of nearly $20,000 to keep them up. The cost to completely remove them, provide fill, followed by seeding and maintaining the hill would be approximately $136,000.
Jeremy Worcester gave the board details on an E-Rate plan that would supply the school district with the necessary equipment and licensing to improve the internet and networking at the school district. The E-Rate program would provide 60% of the funding for the project that looks to cost approximately $200,000.
The Board approved the 2026-2027 school calendar. School will start later this year due to state statute that allow schools to start no earlier than two weeks before Labor Day. The first day of school next year will be Tuesday, August 25th. The last day of school will by May 21, 2027, with graduation on Thursday, May 20th.
Superintendent Harper gave the board preliminary budget information. The district has received most of its local tax effort, and Mr. Harper focused on legislation that could affect budgeting as the spring progresses. Thus far revenues have been good, and the current budget appears to be on track. Scenarios of various raises were discussed along with the financial impact of each.
The Board did a first reading on the MSBA 2025E Policy Update. Policy updates included selection of instructional materials focusing on privacy and cybersecurity concerns, media selection for school libraries, ADA accessibility of district websites, and resident student participation.
The district selected Gerding, Korte, and Chitwood CPAs to perform the 2026 district audit.
Superintendent Harper discussed changing insurance consortiums. Palmyra R-1 was a member of EBA and has joined the Ozark Schools Benefits Association (OSBA). The EBA was a group of 16 schools from Northeast Missouri and Central Missouri that voted unanimously to move to the OSBA. The OSBA will provide protection to the district as the
organization has over 19,000 covered individuals from over 164 school districts. OSBA provides Anthem health benefits, and includes in house vision, dental, and life insurance options.
The board approved additions to the substitute teacher list as presented.
In closed session the following were approved:
Accepted the following resignations:
- Carla Boyd, Middle School Administrative Assistant
- Cara Churchwell, Kindergarten Teacher
- Rachelle Hoerr, Bus Driver
- Aron Knoche, High School Drama Sponsor
- Cindy Livesay, Elementary Guidance Counselor
- Mark Loman, Assistant High School Football Coach
Approved the following hire:
- Kylee Meyer, Middle School Principal
Approved/Extended the contracts of the following:
- Bridgette Augspurg, Elementary School Principal
- Kinsey Cissna, Special Education Director
- Jessica Gottman, Elementary Assistant Principal
- Marty Hull, Athletic Director/Transportation
- Jared Pontius, High School Principal
- Matt Thomas, High School Assistant Principal
