11 More Days to Register For Voting

11 More Days to Register!!

To register to vote in Boone County, Missouri - please visit:     Online Voter Registration

If you've moved since the last election, have no fear!  You may change your address here: Change of Address

Not sure if your information is current, or not sure if you know where to vote?  Visit: Current Information

Have LOTS of questions about voting?  You may find your answers here: Q&A About Boone County Registration

Notice of Election- Nov. 4th for Boone County

NOTICE OF ELECTION

Notice is hereby given that a General Election will be held in the State of Missouri on the 4th day of
November, 2014 for the purpose of voting on candidates and statewide ballot measures (§115.125,
RSMo).

DEMOCRATIC PARTY

REPUBLICAN PARTY

LIBERTARIAN PARTY

CONSTITUTION PARTY

FOR STATE AUDITOR
(VOTE FOR 1)

TOM SCHWEICH
REPUBLICAN PARTY

SEAN O’TOOLE
LIBERTARIAN PARTY

RODNEY FARTHING
CONSTITUTION PARTY

FOR UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE
DISTRICT 4
(VOTE FOR 1)

NATE IRVIN
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

VICKY HARTZLER
REPUBLICAN PARTY

HERSCHEL L. YOUNG
LIBERTARIAN PARTY

FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
DISTRICT 44
(VOTE FOR 1)

THOMAS (TOM) PAULEY
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

CALEB ROWDEN
REPUBLICAN PARTY

FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
DISTRICT 45
(VOTE FOR 1)

KIP KENDRICK
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
DISTRICT 46
(VOTE FOR 1)

STEPHEN WEBBER
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
DISTRICT 47
(VOTE FOR 1)

JOHN WRIGHT
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

CHARLES (CHUCK) BASYE
REPUBLICAN PARTY

FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
DISTRICT 50
(VOTE FOR 1)

CALEB JONES
REPUBLICAN PARTY

FOR CIRCUIT JUDGE
CIRCUIT 13, DIVISION 4
(VOTE FOR 1)

JODIE C. ASEL
REPUBLICAN PARTY

FOR ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT JUDGE
CIRCUIT 13, DIVISION 5
(VOTE FOR 1)

KIMBERLY SHAW
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

MICHAEL R. WHITWORTH
REPUBLICAN PARTY

FOR ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT JUDGE
CIRCUIT 13, DIVISION 9
(VOTE FOR 1)

MICHAEL W. BRADLEY
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

FOR ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT JUDGE
CIRCUIT 13, DIVISION 10
(VOTE FOR 1)

LESLIE ANN SCHNEIDER
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

FOR ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT JUDGE
CIRCUIT 13, DIVISION 11
(VOTE FOR 1)

DEBORAH DANIELS
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

FOR PRESIDING COMMISSIONER
(VOTE FOR 1)

DANIEL K. ATWILL
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

JAMES B. POUNDS
REPUBLICAN PARTY

FOR COUNTY CLERK
(VOTE FOR 1)

WENDY S. NOREN
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

FOR CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
(VOTE FOR 1)

CHRISTY BLAKEMORE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

FOR RECORDER OF DEEDS
(VOTE FOR 1)

NORA DIETZEL
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

LISA BALLENGER
REPUBLICAN PARTY

FOR PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
(VOTE FOR 1)

DAN KNIGHT
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

FOR COUNTY AUDITOR
(VOTE FOR 1)

JUNE E. PITCHFORD
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

FOR COLLECTOR OF REVENUE
(VOTE FOR 1)

BRIAN C. MCCOLLUM
DEMOCRATIC PARTY

CHERI TOALSON REISCH
REPUBLICAN PARTY

STATE OF MISSOURI

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

CONSTITUTIONAL

AMENDMENT NO. 2

Proposed by the 97th General Assembly

(First Regular Session)

SCS HJR 16
Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended so that it will be permissible to allow relevant
evidence of prior criminal acts to be admissible in prosecutions for crimes of a sexual nature
involving a victim under eighteen years of age?
If more resources are needed to defend increased prosecutions additional costs to
governmental entities could be at least $1.4 million annually, otherwise the fiscal impact is
expected to be limited.

YES
NO

CONSTITUTIONAL

AMENDMENT NO. 3

Proposed by Initiative Petition
Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
• require teachers to be evaluated by a standards based performance evaluation system for
which each local school district must receive state approval to continue receiving state and
local funding;
• require teachers to be dismissed, retained, demoted, promoted and paid primarily using
quantifiable student performance data as part of the evaluation system;
• require teachers to enter into contracts of three years or fewer with public school districts;
and• prohibit teachers from organizing or collectively bargaining regarding the design and
implementation of the teacher evaluation system?
Decisions by school districts regarding provisions allowed or required by this proposal and
their implementation will influence the potential costs or savings impacting each district.
Significant potential costs may be incurred by the state and/or the districts if new/additional
evaluation instruments must be developed to satisfy the proposal’s performance evaluation
requirements.

YES
NO

CONSTITUTIONAL

AMENDMENT NO. 6

Proposed by the 97th General Assembly

(Second Regular Session)

SS SCS HCS HJR No. 90
Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to permit voting in person or by mail for a period
of six business days prior to and including the Wednesday before the election day in general
elections, but only if the legislature and the governor appropriate and disburse funds to pay
for the increased costs of such voting?
State governmental entities estimated startup costs of about $2 million and costs to
reimburse local election authorities of at least $100,000 per election. Local election authorities
estimated higher reimbursable costs per election.

Those costs will depend on the compensation, staffing, and, planning decisions of election authorities with the total costs being unknown.

YES
NO

CONSTITUTIONAL

AMENDMENT NO. 10

Proposed by the 97th General Assembly

(Second Regular Session)

HJR No. 72

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to require the governor to pay the public debt, to
prohibit the governor from relying on revenue from legislation not yet passed when proposing
a budget, and to provide a legislative check on the governor’s decisions to restrict funding for
education and other state services?
State governmental entities expect no direct costs or savings. Local governmental entities
expect an unknown fiscal impact.

YES
NO

The polling places for said election will be:See polling place listing at 

http://www.showmeboone.com/clerk/PollingLocations.pdf

Polling locations to be open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

STATE OF MISSOURI
Secretary of State

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand and affix the Great Seal of the State of
Missouri, done at the City of Jefferson, this 25th day of August, 2014.

(seal)
/s/ Jason Kander
Secretary of State

OFFICIAL JUDICIAL BALLOT

STATE OF MISSOURI

Submitting to the voters whether the Judge named below, whose term expires December 31, 2014,
shall be retained in office for a new term.

VOTE ON EACH JUDGE

MISSOURI SUPREME COURT JUDGE

Shall Judge LAURA DENVIR STITH of the Missouri Supreme Court be retained in office?
YES
NO

Shall Judge PAUL CAMPBELL WILSON of the Missouri Supreme Court be retained in office?
YES
NO

MISSOURI COURT OF APPEALS JUDGES, WESTERN DISTRICT

Shall Judge LISA WHITE HARDWICK of the Western District Court of Appeals be retained in office?
YES
NO

Shall Judge ANTHONY REX GABBERT of the Western District Court of Appeals be retained in
office?
YES
NO

STATE OF MISSOURI

Secretary of StateIN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand and affix the Great Seal of the State of
Missouri, done at the City of Jefferson, this 25th day of August, 2014.
(SEAL)

/s/Jason Kander
Secretary of State

NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION

City of Columbia, Missouri

Notice is hereby given to the qualified voters of the City of Columbia, Missouri, that the City Council of the City has called an election to be held in the City on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, commencing
at six o'clock a.m. and closing at seven o'clock p.m., on the question contained in the following
sample ballot:

PROPOSITION 1

Shall the City of Columbia, Missouri increase the general property tax rate of the City by $0.30
per $100.00 of assessed valuation for the sole purpose of funding an increase in staffing and
operations of the police and fire departments of the City? The increase would be phased in
over a period of five years.

YES
NO

If authorized by the voters, the increase in the general property tax rate received by the City of
Columbia, Missouri shall be segregated from the other general property tax revenues and
used solely for police and fire department staffing and operations, including, but not limited to
personnel and associated equipment and other related expenses.

The election will be held at the following polling places in the City:

See polling place listing at http://www.showmeboone.com/clerk/PollingLocations.pdf

Dated this _____ day of ______, 2014.

Wendy Noren
Clerk of the County Commission

NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION

City of Columbia, Missouri

Notice is hereby given to the qualified voters of the City of Columbia, Missouri, that the City Council of the City has called an election to be held in the City on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, commencing
at six o'clock a.m. and closing at seven o'clock p.m., on the question contained in the following
sample ballot:

PROPOSITION 2

Shall the City of Columbia, Missouri replace the current development charge for construction
of collector and arterial streets of $0.50 per square foot of total floor area of new construction
with a development charge for construction of collector and arterial streets as follows:

Residential - a maximum of $1.00 per square foot of total floor area of new construction; and

Non-residential Low Impact - a maximum of $1.50 per square foot of total floor area of new
construction; and

Non-residential High Impact - a maximum of $2.00 per square foot of total floor area of new construction.

“Non-residential Low Impact” shall be defined as a trip generation rate of less than 3 trips per
1,000 square feet based on the weekday p.m. peak hour for non-residential land uses as set
forth in the most recent edition of Trip Generation, a manual published by the Institute of
Transportation Engineers;

“Non-residential High Impact” shall be defined as a trip generation rate of 3 trips or more per
1,000 square feet based on the weekday p.m. peak hour for non-residential land uses as set
forth in the most recent edition of Trip Generation, a manual published by the Institute of
Transportation Engineers?

The increase would be phased in over a period of three (3) years.

YES
NO

The election will be held at the following polling places in the City:

See polling place listing at http://www.showmeboone.com/clerk/PollingLocations.pdf

Dated this _____ day of ______, 2014.

Wendy Noren
Clerk of the County Commission

Columbia is On the Website!

From the Protect Our Local Schools website- www.protectourlocalschools:  

       The school boards below have passed resolutions opposing Amendment 3.

-C-

• Campbell R-II
• Camdenton R-III
• Cape Girardeau Public Schools
• Carl Junction Schools
• Carthage R-9
• Central R-III
• Chaffee R-II
• Clark Country R-1
• Clearwater R-1
• Clinton School District
• Cole Camp R-1
• Columbia Public Schools
• Crawford County R-I
• Crest Ridge R-VII

Opinion Letter Posted in Springfield News-Leader

Craig Hurst, Springfield

I am writing to increase awareness about Amendment 3 and the concerns it would bring for Missouri students.

I would like to begin by thanking everyone for their support. The more I talk about the issue, the more I see people outside the field of education who know that Amendment 3 is not a good idea.

My main concern is that this amendment is sponsored by people outside the field of education who clearly have other priorities besides the students.

I teach high school English in Marshfield, and I know that whenever a decision is made at our school, whether it's by the department chair, the principal or the superintendent, it will ultimately have a positive impact on students.

Everything we do as educators has to come back to that because that is what education is about. So, if we are talking about what is best for students, we could look at the expected increase in standardized testing (let alone the costs), we could talk about their lack of authenticity, and how the last thing the students really want/need is more testing, but essentially it all boils down to the same conclusion.

I am amazed that Amendment 3 even made it on the ballot, but again, I am glad to see so much support behind stopping it.

Stoddard County Retired Teachers Oppose Amendment 3

County's retired teachers openly oppose Amendment 3

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

By NOREEN HYSLOP Managing Editor

Educators don't believe they've seen the end of effort to pass measure

Members of the Stoddard County Public School Retired Employees Association (PSREA) voted unanimously on Monday, Sept. 22, to pass a resolution voicing their opposition to Amendment 3 as it will appear on the Nov. 4, 2014 ballot.

Amendment 3 has drawn considerable attention in recent months and has met with opposition within each Stoddard County school, several of which also are on board with publicly expressing their disapproval of the proposal.

Educators, both active and retired, say Amendment 3 is misleading in its wording and will take away local control of the schools from parents, teachers, and school districts and "hand it over to Jefferson City politicians."

Efforts to pass Amendment 3 are primarily backed by St. Louis conservative activist billionaire, Rex Sinquefield, a supporter of open enrollment in Missouri schools, charter school expansion, and teacher-tenure reform. Sinquefield has funded a number of other initiatives in the Missouri legislature that promote his philosophies with regard to public education.

In recent weeks, Sinquefield's group behind the ballot measure, Teach Great, contended that they have ceased pursuing the issue, stating that "this was not the right time to deal with this issue."
Missouri educators, however, don't believe the Sinquefield-backed campaign has entirely shut down, with many expressing the belief that the political group will "blitz" the media just prior to the November election in a further attempt to pass the amendment.

"The amendment will still appear on the ballot," explained Tracy Gant, a local retired teacher who serves as president of Stoddard County's Retired School Employee Association. The group, which keeps retired school personnel abreast of all education-based legislature and issues pertaining to teacher retirement, gathered Monday for their regular quarterly meeting in Dexter.

"Rex Sinquefield has spent nearly $2 million on his campaign to pass this amendment, and it's hard to believe that he would give up at this point. I don't think we've heard the last from his campaign to pass this amendment, even though they say they backed off."

Educators argue that Amendment 3, if passed by the voters of Missouri, would limit teacher contracts to no more than three years and prohibit teachers negotiating any classroom evaluation system.

Amendment 3 backers contend that the measure will reward good teachers, support struggling teachers, and make it easier for schools to hire teachers. Both the Missouri National Education Association (NEA) and the Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA) say the proposal is a "one-size-fits-all" approach to education that would be costly to local districts and would create yet more standardized tests.

The most recent public opposition by PSREA, in the form of a resolution, additionally states, "Whereas Amendment 3 limits actual instruction and learning opportunities as teachers spend more time teaching for testing," and "Whereas Amendment creates another state mandate, yet ignores the financial responsibility of said mandate,"..."for the reasons stated and others, the Stoddard County Public School Retired Employees Association urges all Missourians to vote "no" on Amendment 3.

Springfield School Board Vows to Strongly Oppose Amendment 3

By Claudette RileyCRILEY@NEWS-LEADER.COM

The Springfield school board is gearing up for a big fight.

It strongly opposes a proposed change to the Missouri Constitution, known as Amendment 3, that would end teacher tenure and require student test scores to dominate teacher evaluations.

Between now and Nov. 4, when voters decide its fate, the board plans to explain exactly why, from its perspective, the change would be "bad for kids."

"I don't know anybody in education that thinks this is a good idea," said board vice president Andy Hosmer. "I'm still looking."

The board took a unanimous stand last week, approving a resolution against the measure. More than 80 school boards — including Willard, Logan-Rogersville, and Monett — have passed similar resolutions in recent weeks.

"This is appalling to me," said Springfield board president Denise Fredrick, a former teacher and administrator. "You will hear more from me because I will be very vocal about this."

Teach Great, the organization driving the proposal — and largely funded by St. Louis billionaire activist Rex Sinquefield — made a sweep of the state this summer. It argued that by tying teacher evaluations to student test scores, achievement levels would go up and make it easier for schools to get rid of low-performing teachers.

But the group recently pulled back, announcing it would shut it doors. It stated that while it believes in the ballot measure, it believes the timing is wrong.

With or without Teach Great, the measure remains on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The loss of an organized, statewide campaign for passage has done little to dampen the resolve of the opposition.

Under the proposal, at least 51 percent of a teacher's evaluation would be based on student test scores. Those evaluations would be used to make employment decisions, determine pay and identify which staff would go if there was a reduction.

Teacher contracts would also be limited to three years, effectively doing away with tenure. Collective bargaining over teacher evaluations would also be prohibited.

There isn't a clear fiscal note. The district expects the additional testing, implementation and legal challenges to be expensive.

Both Springfield teacher unions urged the school board to take a stand.

Kittilu Maxson, president of the Springfield National Education Association, said tying employment to a "one-size-fits-all, high stakes testing event" would put too much emphasis on testing and take away the current focus on "the growth and progress of our students."

Maxson fears that experienced teachers who elect to work with struggling students would be faced with the reality of having "their jobs on the line." "What teacher would continue to be willing to take that risk?" she asked.

Board member Gerry Lee said addressing issues like teacher evaluations through an amendment is the wrong approach, arguing it eliminates local control.

"You just don't put personnel decisions in a constitution," Lee said. "…It's putting it in black and white and saying it's the way it's going to be irrespective of situations, irrespective of circumstances."

Superintendent John Jungmann said school employees are limited in what they can do. State law prohibits the use of public resources to advocate, support or oppose any ballot measure of candidate for public office.

For that reason, the board is expected to be at the forefront.

"Obviously, we're many, many weeks from election time. It will ramp up drastically as we get into the last two or three weeks," he told the board this month. "We want you to be prepared. We want your voice to be heard."

Taking a stand

In late August, the Springfield school district sent a note to all employee acknowledging that Amendment 3 is "an important issue and one that is close to the hearts of many in our community." While employees can express their opinions and share information with others, they must not use public resources to do that.

State law prohibits the use of such resources to "advocate, support, or oppose any ballot measure or candidate for public office."

For example, staff are not to express their opinions, for or against it, using district email, paper, copiers, printers, fax machines, telephones and school mailboxes. They also can't post information on walls or bulletin boards.

Staff aren't allowed to "use their position" to express feelings or opinions about the issue. Violations of that include:

• Discussing the amendment in class or with students

• Using student mailing lists

• Sending information home with students

• Wearing buttons, stickers, or clothing containing information about this issue

Ballot language

A "yes" vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to require teachers to be evaluated by a standards-based performance evaluation system. Each system must receive state approval in order for the local school district to continue receiving state and local funding. Teachers will be dismissed, retained, demoted, promoted and paid primarily using quantifiable student performance data as part of the evaluation system. The amendment further requires teachers to enter into contracts of three years or fewer with public school districts, with exceptions. The amendment also prohibits teachers from organizing or collectively bargaining regarding the design and implementation of the teacher evaluation system.

Support MNEA Supported Candidate Tom Pauley This Monday

Monday, Oct. 8, 2014 Columbia Public School Board Report

Dear readers, each month I or another member of CMNEA PAC will take notes during the Columbia Public School monthly board meeting and post them onto this blog.  This is to help you know what took place during the board meetings.  We will try our best to have the notes posted within one week of the meeting.

School Board Meeting

Sept. 8, 2014

Meeting called to order at 6:29 p.m.  Corrections to the minutes and consent to pull out an agenda item for further consideration in closed session after regular board meeting.

Minutes approved with corrections and consideration for further policy items placed as separate line items for approval (recommended by MSBA) that comply with Federal and State

Laws (1-E14) approved.

No public comments

CMNEA Report- Susan McClintic- Updated the board on our activities since June.  3 members attended the NEA RA in Denver.  CMNEA had a booth at CPS Technapaloza and shared how technology can connect to the classroom with support from NEA.  Participants on this day were able to sign up for support, register to receive information for their classrooms and win prizes.  In August CMNEA held building and leadership training for CMNEA leadership.  CMNEA PAC also held an extensive training for upcoming November and April elections.  Pencils and ear bugs were supplied to members who request them.  Bargaining team met and updated training.

CMNEA is glad to see Columbia school board join discussion with many other boards about Amendment 3.  CMNEA will vote at the Sept. meeting to hold a position on the Amendment.  CMNEA hopes the school board will continue the discussion during this month's session.

MSTA Report- Susie Adams- Shared this was her first time at the podium as MSTA local president, 21 year social studies veteran in CPS.  Welcomed new teachers and stated that Battle Hired hired the most new teachers.  Privileged to work with CMNEA and provide lunch and invite new teachers to join the organization which bests matches their philosophy.  New transportation to Battle has been wonderful for working students and family members.

Amendment 3 discussion heating up and expressed gratitude to work with CMNEA, and with the collaborative effort we can bring about change and looks forward to working with CMNEA in future collaborative activities.

Discussion on board assignments to committees as assigned by CPS Board President King

C. Amendment 3- Stiepleman gave facts about what this Amendment would entail.  Stiepleman shared what the language meant and how it would affect local communities.  He shared that there is a broad coalition of community members across the state that is working to educate community members on this issue.  Evaluations would be changed, even though Columbia has PBTE as our evaluation for teachers, the cost of impact of the amendment was questioned when the foundation formula has never been fully funded, and the future of the educational profession was a concern.  With such strict restrictions, who would want to become a teacher? 

 King wanted to give time for public discussion and ask MSBA to come speak to CPS board at the Oct. meeting before the vote.

·         Sessions shared that he did have a sample language from MSBA about opposition to 3 and asked the board to view it and vote on it.

·         Pries stressed that the board vote now because the election would be here soon and did not feel the board needed MSBA to “tell us how to think or feel.”  Also shared that the legislation wouldn't even touch this issue, letting everyone know that this is not best practice for our state.

·         King then stated that the board could move discussion up for their LATE Sept. board work meeting and adopt the resolution then, but still allow for discussion at the Oct. board meeting so that the public could learn about the Amendment.

·         Both Sessions and Pries said that by the board adopting the resolution now, the board WOULD be letting the public know about the Amendment and be ready to educate now.  Sessions stressed that the election would be here before we knew it and Oct. would be too late.  Wade and Mees also voiced concern for waiting too long to oppose as a board, which represents the community.

·         Board went ahead and decided to WAIT until Sept. work session to vote on the resolution and invite MSBA to talk about 3 at the Oct. board meeting.

5.  Superintendent Report: District Goals:

·         To Be the Best in the District.  How?  Through our core values

•      Honesty and Transparency.  Review the budget often to meet the needs of the district now, rather than later such as adjusting the budget.

·         Mutual Respect, positive approach and persistence.  How do we approach, respond, or work with community members, and know we are never done reaching out to students and community members.

• ·         Adaptability.  We must be creative with discipline, attendance and achievement.
• ·         Teamwork: What is the focus of our district?  We've dumped so much on teachers’ plates that it has become a platter.  What is the true focus for our students, educational programs and teachers?
• ·         Commitment: to students, community and district.

How will we succeed?  Organizational Goals:

• ·         We will be fiscally responsible with taxpayers’ money.
• ·         We will partner with the community to help children enter school ready to succeed.
• ·         Students will read on level by the end of third grade.
• ·         We will actively support student transitions.
• ·         Students will graduate with the necessary skills to enroll in college and /or a career program of their choice. (Cradle to Career)
• ·         Ninety percent of students will attend school at least ninety percent of the time.
• ·         Out of school suspension numbers will decrease.
• ·         Students will improve on district and state testing.  This will be our rallying cry.

The team will:

• ·         Monitor with our progress using a balanced scorecard that is simple and makes sense.
• ·         Share our rallying cry with the whole community.
• ·         Be prepared with a support system for schools.

Question about decreasing the suspension of students by pries, worried that this will burden teachers by keeping troubled students in the room.  Will there be tools in place to still support teachers?  Stiepleman said yes, because as students have the right for safe schools, so do teachers.  Stiepleman does not want poor behaviors within the classroom, and teachers will not be placed in harm’s way.

Pries and Sessions praised the goals.

Questions about the scorecard by Whitt.  Stiepleman will share a copy at the October board meeting.

Cushing- Asking how some schools’ scores went up/down.  Stiepleman explained how students fared overall in the past 3 years. (Basically leveled out, didn't make huge jumps again but are improving.   There was much discussion about ratings and rating points, meeting student needs and meeting a school’s need while staying within budget.

Security System Enhancements- Hickman and Rock Bridge high schools were greatly upgraded to HD cameras with remote viewing.  These schools were also upgraded on alarms, staff key cards and more remote activation.  Principals may view their schools on camera and tape with Smart phones as long as they are in any CPS building.  The district has purchased 40 emergency radios.  There is one state of the art radio in every building in the district to talk to someone OUTSIDE their building in order to communicate to security.  All schools now have their video intercom and electric door lock.  RB and Hickman will have student access management going.  Career center will get going soon.  There was some discussion about various experiences with other schools and security.

Two Mile Prairie Elementary Signage.-   Linda Quinley  shared that a concerned parent from Two Mile provided information about increased traffic, and fear that a student could get hurt because of lack of sidewalk and drop off/pick up areas.  These parents wanted a lower speed and clear signs marking school ahead.    All voted yes, passed with Jim Whitt unable to vote due to sudden illness and left early.

7.  New Business

a. 7 bids were submitted for construction of Southwest Elementary.  ORF Construction from Bridgeton, MO. had a bid total of $16, 019,300 as the bid winner because of it being the lowest. Cushing asked why not a local contractor.  State law requires schools to contract with lowest bidder.  Ashland was the closest local contractors (River City Construction) and they were set at 4,000.00 higher.  No Columbia based contractor sent a bid, even though an ad was in the paper for two weeks. 

Accept the bid- All voted yes. One absent.

b. 2015 IBC code- Storm shelters.  Elementary schools will be required to have storm shelters.  Columbia will have the opportunity to decide if they will accept this new code or not.  It could cost $1M.  Consideration would have to be on the square footage of the building, ventilation, restroom needs, etc.  Stiepleman shared this information about the building so the board was aware that this will be coming down in the near future.  No action required.  Quinley shared that should this code come to be, the district would sell a Bond and get the monetary resources from the sale.

C. Board voted for ratification of summer authority contracts on building needs.  6 voted yes, one absent.

D.  Consideration on change orders for building contracts.  CPS Board asked questions and asked for clarification.  6 voted yes.  One absent

 E.  Consideration of policy. There is Policy for district community involvement on district committees.  As of now, there are 3 committees and getting replacements.  The proposal is to add new wording in the policy of lowering the number of board members on committees.  Changed language to say, “Up to 3 board members on committees” and then add language to seek replacements when a board member resigns early in the school year.  This would also allow the board president the flexibility to appoint 1, 2, or even 3 board members on a committee.  Debate on language and formation of committees took place. 

Moved to table discussion.  No seconded.  More debate on what to do.  Pries finally seconded to table discussion.  All in favor?  5 voted yes.  One abstained.  One absent.

F. Quinley- Sessions moved to approve updated budget. Quinley shared updating language, clearing up operational transfers and net zero changes, and showing revenues over resources.  Quinley also shared changes in capital action because of finished projects over the summer.  Quinley asking to add funds for a cell tower near Battle High school, and funds for repairs to schools after the July summer storm.  6 voted yes.  One absent. 

Board announcements.  Brief questions from board members.

Meeting adj. 8:37 p.m.

Think About This!

There It Is! The Columbia Public School's Resolution

More Proof Columbia School Board Opposes Amendment 3

Columbia School Board formally opposes Amendment 3

Thursday, September 18, 2014 | 6:17 p.m. CDT; updated 7:33 p.m. CDT, Thursday, September 18, 2014

BY KATIE JOHNS, MCKENZIE PENDERGRASS

COLUMBIA — The Columbia School Board voted in favor of a resolution Thursday morning opposing an amendment that would change Missouri teacher evaluations and contract lengths.

The board unanimously voted in favor of a formal resolution that opposes Amendment 3, which will be on the state's Nov. 4 ballot.

Board member Jan Mees said even though Teach Great — the organization pushing for the passage of the amendment — stopped its campaign, she believed the board needed to be persistent.

According to the board's resolution, Amendment 3 would prevent the district from hiring, promoting, compensating or dismissing teachers based on board policy and local standards.

It would also require students to take additional standardized tests and prevent the Sdistrict from using its current teacher evaluation process, according to the resolution.

KMIZ-TV Reports Columbia Public Schools Vote Unanimously to Oppose Amendment 3

COLUMBIA, Mo. -

The Columbia Public School Board voted unanimously against a controversial amendment.

Amendment 3 would require teachers to be evaluated by a standards-based performance evaluation system.

The Moberly School Board has already opposed it, saying it would take control away from the schools.

Jefferson City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brian Mitchell said the amendment would take away local control from parents, teachers, and school districts and put it in the hands of politicians.

The Columbia School Board met Thursday morning to vote on the issue

Sinquefield to Spend $2.4M For Next MO House Speaker

Sinquefield group ready to spend $2.5M this fall

Jonathan Shorman, News-Leader7:38 a.m. CDT September 14, 2014

(Photo: AP)

Grow Missouri, the Rex Sinquefield-funded organization, said today it is prepared to spend $2.5 million this fall as elections loom in November.

In a statement, the organization said it would be reporting a new contribution of $2.5 million and that the money would go in "large part" to support Rep. John Diehl's 100 Great Ideas Tour.

However, Aaron Willard, the group's treasurer, said the $2.5 million will be spent on a variety of causes and campaigns this fall, including ballot initiatives and individual candidates.

Diehl, a Town and County Republican who is currently the House majority floor leader, is expected to become the next speaker. A few minutes after a reporter tweeted about Grow Missouri's announcement, Diehl called the reporter to say none of the money would go to his campaign committee.

RELATED: Sinquefield calls Gov. Nixon an 'idiot'

Diehl's 100 Great Ideas Initiative will include events around the state, though Diehl said he could not imagine how Grow Missouri could spend such a large amount of money on the tour itself.

Willard said Grow Missouri wants to engage at the grassroots level and praised the Great Ideas Initiative. Grow Missouri, in its statement, made similar comments and said it was prepared to provided funding commensurate with its importance. Grow Missouri is also coordinating with other organizations to develop a plan to support the initiative.

Overall, Willard said the group's activity this fall will be similar to what it has previously done, most notably during the summer of 2013, when it worked to promote a veto override of legislation that contained an income tax cut.

"I think this is consistent with the efforts have done in the past," Willard said.

Grow Missouri is funded almost entirely by Sinquefield, a St. Louis philanthropist. According to its latest finance report, as of Aug. 30 the group had approximately $994,000 cash on hand.

Statement From Protect Our Local Schools Campaign

For Immediate Release                                                                              Contact

September 10, 2014                                                                                     Mike Sherman – 314-309-6327

                                                                                                                      mike@protectourlocalschools.com                                                                                             

Statement from the Protect Our Local Schools Campaign  

Jefferson City, Mo. – Earlier today, the Protect Our Local Schools campaign issued the following statement:

“Amendment 3 remains on the ballot, and if passed, will implement a one-size-fits-all approach to education in Missouri,” said Mike Sherman, spokesman for the Protect Our Local Schools campaign. “Our coalition of teachers, parents, school boards, principals and superintendents are happy to see that proponents of this amendment now agree that this is the wrong approach to education, and there is no denying that this will take local control away from every school district in the state. However, none of this changes the fact that this amendment is still on the ballot and will implement more costly, state-mandated standardized tests if passed. We urge all Missourians to vote NO on Amendment 3.”

To learn more about the campaign visit www.protectourlocalschools.com

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Missouri National Education Association  1810 E Elm Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101
1-800-392-0236www.mnea.org

A Message From MNEA President, Charles Smith on Amendment 3

The TeachGreat Group just announced they are stopping their campaign to support Amendment 3.  BUT....unless the court pitches the amendment off the ballot on Sept 17, we will still have to run a campaign because the issue will appear on the ballot.   We do have a court date on Sept 17 in the Western District Court of Appeals, but the court will rule on the merits of the case.  The courts will not care whether or not TeachGreat wants to play ball anymore.

   Therefore, right now....we cannot let down our guard.  Grow Missouri (another one of Sinquefield's groups) is still out there with $1.5 million.
We will make some adjustments in the campaign plan, but in case people go to the polls with bad info and vote for Amend 3, we MUST continue to educate people to VOTE NO.

Charles E. Smith

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Missouri National Education Association  1810 E Elm Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101
1-800-392-0236www.mnea.org

From St. Louis Public Radio- The Fight Continues

Backers Of Teacher Tenure Amendment Pull Back, But Foes Plan To Fight On WED SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

By DALE SINGER

Even though a campaign to institute tougher evaluation and tenure rules for Missouri teachers is stopping its efforts, opponents of a constitutional amendment on the November ballot say they’re going ahead with their efforts to defeat it.

“We’re going to be campaigning full steam ahead,” Mike Sherman, spokesman for the group Protect Our Local Schools, said in an interview Wednesday. “We still need everyone in the state to vote no.”

The proposal, on the ballot as Amendment 3,  would:

• change how Missouri teachers are evaluated,
• limit the length of their contracts
• and revise rules about how school boards could hire, fire and retain teachers.

It went on the ballot after a petition drive funded by Rex Sinquefield, who has donated about $1.6 million to the campaign.

Backers of an amendment to change teacher tenure have announced that they are suspending their campaign to pass the amendment.

The amendment has been pushed by a group known as Teach Great, which said it would promote greater accountability and higher student achievement by making sure the best teachers were in Missouri classrooms. Opponents have run a campaign that included a broad spectrum of statewide education groups, from teachers to administrators to school boards.

On Tuesday, Kate Casas, spokeswoman for Teach Great, released a statement saying that while the group will continue to make sure the amendment stays on the ballot in the face of a court challenge, “It has become clear that now is not the time to further pursue the Teach Great initiative. 

“While we still believe in this measure wholeheartedly and will continue to work to reward and protect good teachers, support struggling teachers and make it easier for schools to hire more great teachers, we will not be moving forward with Amendment 3 this year.”

Instead, the statement continued, “Over the next several months, we will be focusing on strengthening our grassroots base by talking directly to voters and by hosting a listening tour that will cover every corner of the state eliciting feedback from Missourians from all political persuasions by facilitating inclusive discussions posing the basic question: What can we do to improve our state?”

It added:

“Missourians have settled for mediocrity for too long.  Our hope is to challenge people from all over the state to figure out together how we can do better.”

In an interview Wednesday, Casas said the decision to suspend the campaign was based on more than just polling, which she said showed voters to be closely divided.

She noted that there are no high-profile races on the ballot in November, so there were questions about whether people who support the amendment’s goals would turn out on Election Day.

Noting that Missourians consistently call education their top priority, Casas said efforts now would focus on talking with residents throughout the state to get their views and show them how the changes the amendment would bring could improve the state’s schools.

“That is one thing we will work to better communicate,” she said, “how this amendment would work, if we ever try to do it again. We learned from this.”

She said she could not speak for whether Sinquefield would continue to support the effort.

Opponents of the measure have been stressing what they call a one-size-fits-all approach that the amendment would bring.  Bullet points on its website say it “would take away local control of our schools from teachers, parents and school districts, and hand it over to Jefferson City politicians.”

They also said it would require more testing to generate the data that would be used to evaluate teachers, and those tests would increase costs for schools.

Sherman, the opponents’ spokesman, backed up that claim by noting, “You can’t individualize lesson plans for your students if all that matters is their test scores.”

He noted the broad-based support that Protect Our Local Schools has put together.

“We have the whole education community on our side,” he said. “It has to be hard to run an education campaign when you don’t have anyone in the education community on your side….

“I haven’t talked to one school board member, one administrator, one principal who thinks this would give them more local control. They’re there every day. They know how it will work.”

Casas called the opponents “well-organized, powerful, well-funded groups. We certainly expected them to be a formidable foe.”

But, she said, their view of how the amendment would work is a “misguided analysis.”

“If you read the actual amendment language,” she said, “and the implications of how that would work, it is very clear that boards end up with far more control over assessment and contract than they have today.”

A challenge to the amendment that lost at the circuit court level is scheduled to be heard in a state appellate court next week. So, Sherman said, his group plans to continue working to defeat the measure.

“Until this thing is off the ballot, which it probably won’t be, we’re going to campaign as hard as we can against it.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said it had no reaction to Teach Great’s decision to back off its campaign and had no position on Amendment 3.