Watch a full replay of this meeting on the Excelsior Citizen YouTube Channel.
Excelsior Springs, Mo. (April 22, 2025) – Facing a critical deadline to avoid a costly federal penalty, the Excelsior Springs Board of Education approved a plan to invest more than $1 million in facility upgrades, while also navigating staffing changes and installing new board leadership for the 2024-25 school year during a packed April 22 meeting.
Early Childhood Center Highlights Growth, Innovative Teaching Practices
Dr. Katie Andreasen, principal of the Excelsior Springs Early Childhood Center, presented an annual update to the Board of Education at the April 22 meeting, highlighting enrollment growth, academic data, and innovative classroom projects.
In a charming opening to the report, Dr. Andreasen introduced ECC staff members Ali Stock and Nikki Allen, along with second-year preschooler Bella Coffee. Bella conducted an impromptu research project during the meeting, surveying board members about the presence of letters on their shoes, showcasing the center’s project-based approach to early childhood learning.
Stock explained that ECC classrooms follow the “project approach,” encouraging young learners to explore real-world topics through inquiry and hands-on investigation. Their current project focused on the study of shoes, leading to lessons on materials, construction, logos, and even the comparison of human and animal footwear.
Following the student-led demonstration, Dr. Andreasen turned to more formal data, reporting strong growth in enrollment. The Early Childhood Center now serves between 160 and 170 students, a significant increase from the 82 students it had at the start of her tenure. The expansion into the district’s former Westview building has helped accommodate the increase.
Academic data from fall to winter assessments show promising growth in language, literacy, and cognitive domains, despite mid-year data traditionally reflecting smaller gains compared to end-of-year results. Andreasen highlighted that all ECC teachers have now completed training in the “LETTERS” program for early literacy instruction, aligning with the district’s K-12 efforts. New resources, such as an updated Heggerty phonological awareness curriculum, will further support younger students next year.
In the social-emotional domain, growth has been strong, with ECC students starting and maintaining high scores. Conscious Discipline initiatives, funded by the Clay County Children’s Fund, have significantly strengthened the ECC’s behavioral and mental health supports. Recent staff recognitions included paraprofessional Krista Hahn’s completion of the rigorous Child Development Associate (CDA) credential.
Dr. Andreasen also shared impressive comparative data showing that ECC students consistently outperform regional Head Start peers at both the beginning and middle of the school year. She attributed the success to strong family engagement programs, intentional classroom environments, and the ECC’s partnership with agencies such as Cornerstones of Care and Head Start.
Upcoming events at the ECC include another Conscious Discipline parent night, “Kicking It With Your Kids” at Tiger Field, popsicles on the playground, and summer screening sessions for future enrollment.
Board members expressed appreciation for the Early Childhood Center’s comprehensive approach to kindergarten readiness and praised the center’s ability to foster academic and emotional growth in the district’s youngest learners.
Board Accepts Resignations Across District as Staffing Changes Begin
The board approved a significant number of staff resignations, marking the start of the district’s annual staffing adjustments. The resignations span elementary, middle, and high school levels, affecting both academic and extracurricular programs.
While staffing changes are typical during the spring months, the unusually large number of resignations has raised questions within the community about whether the recent failure of the district’s proposed tax levy may have contributed to the departures. The district has not publicly indicated any direct connection between the levy’s outcome and the resignations. The list of resignations includes:
Cornerstone Elementary
- Alana Hollingsworth, fifth-grade teacher
- Alicia Kern, special education teacher
- Jacquelyn Gouldsmith, first-grade teacher
- Mindy Andrews, third-grade teacher
Lewis Elementary
- Allison Downing, second-grade teacher
- Stephanie Rhodus, library media specialist (also serving Elkhorn Elementary)
Elkhorn Elementary
- Jennifer Wilmes, secretary
- Stephanie Rhodus, library media specialist (also serving Lewis Elementary)
Early Childhood Center
- Kristen Childers, special education teacher
Excelsior Springs Middle School
- Chelsey Vigil, paraprofessional (effective March 17)
- Emily McLean, sixth-grade special education teacher
- Tracy Llewellyn, special education teacher
- Valerie Staponski, seventh-grade math teacher
Excelsior Springs High School
- Gina Smith, paraprofessional (effective May 23)
- Marty Marker, special education teacher
- Sara Wickham, principal
- Kayla Ganzer, dance team coach (extra duty position)
Athletics and Extracurricular Activities
- Jessica Evert, junior varsity softball coach (effective 2025-2026 season)
- Kayla Ganzer, high school dance team coach (effective end of current school year)
The majority of the resignations will take effect at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, allowing the district time to post openings and initiate the recruitment process for the upcoming academic year.
Journalism Students Recognized for Coverage of Levy
During the meeting, Excelsior Springs High School journalism students received special recognition for their recent work covering the district’s tax levy proposal.
Students Willa Schrier (Jr.) and Malaya Tedesco (Sr.) were honored for their article published through the E-town Outlook, the high school’s student-led media outlet. Board members and administrators praised the students for their clear and engaging reporting during an important moment for the community.
The article generated considerable attention on social media, with district officials noting it was shared more than 30 times directly from the district’s Facebook page. Additional shares by community pages, such as Friends of ESSD, further amplified its reach.
Tedesco noted that the E-town Outlook encompasses journalism, broadcast, and podcast teams and maintains an active presence on social media and its own website. Board members encouraged the students to continue promoting their work. They even joked about the possibility of paid internships with the Excelsior Citizen to build stronger partnerships between the district and the broader community.
MSBA Update
The Excelsior Springs Board of Education reviewed the latest video report from the Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA) during its April 22 meeting. The update focused on advocacy efforts at the state level, recent student showcases, and upcoming events and training opportunities for school board members.
Highlights included a recap of MSBA’s Advocacy Day, held March 11 in Jefferson City, where board members and students from across the state engaged with legislators to discuss key educational issues. Commissioner of Education Dr. Margie Vandeven (noted in the video) emphasized a growing trend of improvement in teacher retention, attendance rates, and public school support statewide. She encouraged school leaders to be vocal about their successes while continuing to address ongoing challenges such as absenteeism and teacher shortages.
The report also celebrated Mary Draper of the Wright City R-II School District, who received the Carter Dward Excellence and Advocacy Award for her outstanding contributions to public education advocacy.
Additionally, board members were reminded of the upcoming MSBA Summer Summit, scheduled for June 16-18 in Branson, and the mandatory 18.5-hour new board member training program, which remains a requirement under Missouri law. The training, offered both online and in-person, covers essential topics such as school finance, student achievement, and school law.
Board Approves 2025-26 Career Ladder Plan Amid Calls for Greater District Accountability
The Excelsior Springs Board of Education approved the 2025-26 District Career Ladder Plan at its April 22 meeting, following a detailed presentation by Deputy Superintendent Dr. Mark Bullimore. However, the discussion also included pointed feedback from Board Member Traci White, who urged the district to examine ways it could ease the program’s burdens on teachers.
The Career Ladder Plan, which incentivizes teachers to perform additional duties beyond their contracted hours, remains essentially unchanged for next year. Under the plan, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) covers 60% of program costs, with the district responsible for the remaining 40%. The estimated total program cost for 2025-26 is $940,000, with $400,000 coming from local funds.
Dr. Bullimore explained that although the plan required board approval by April 30 to meet the state’s application deadline, the district would continue to evaluate the program through the summer and could propose revisions based on final participation data and teacher feedback.
Some concerns were raised during the discussion, particularly regarding the requirement that 30% of Career Ladder hours involve direct student tutoring, a challenge for many teachers who are already balancing their existing workloads. White expressed concern that the district’s additional stipulations may make the program unnecessarily difficult to navigate, particularly at a time when teacher burnout and retention are significant issues.
“We cannot blame everything on the state,” White said. “There’s some ownership that we have across our district, and I think we need to lift a little bit of the burden where we can.”
Other board members echoed the need for balance but ultimately agreed to approve the plan as presented, with the understanding that potential revisions could be brought back for further review by the board later this year.
Compensation Study Shows Excelsior Springs Behind Market in Key Areas
The Excelsior Springs Board of Education heard the results of an external market compensation study during its April 22 meeting, presented by Fred Corn, CEO of Educational Management Solutions (EMS).
Corn reported that Excelsior Springs School District salaries, particularly for classified and administrative staff, lag significantly behind regional market rates. Classified positions were found to be approximately 20% below market, administrators nearly 27% below, and certificated (teaching) staff about 9% behind comparable districts, according to the information presented.
The study benchmarked Excelsior Springs’ pay against “comparable school districts” in the Kansas City metropolitan area, using what Corn described as a detailed “apples-to-apples” matching process that considered both job titles and actual duties performed. EMS emphasized that the analysis was designed to give the district actionable data for setting strategic compensation goals.
Corn offered some praise to the district for its efforts to equalize teacher pay structure, noting that although teachers still face a pay gap, it is smaller than the gaps found among classified and administrative staff. “Your teachers are your most important, most valuable asset,” he told the board.
While the study offered extensive comparative data, Corn stressed that Excelsior Springs’ financial realities must be taken into account when setting targets for improvement. He suggested Excelsior Springs can use the data to set incremental goals toward more competitive salaries.
Deputy Superintendent Mark Bullimore indicated that the study will inform the district’s strategic planning, despite the failure of the recent tax levy proposal. A second phase of the EMS project, focusing on internal equity and job description alignment, may be pursued in the future to further strengthen the district’s compensation structure.
District Prepares for Expanded 2025 Summer School Offerings
Dr. Jennifer Harris, principal of Elkhorn Elementary, and Ms. Anneliese Gould, assistant principal at Excelsior Springs Middle School, presented plans for the 2025 Excelsior Springs summer school program during the April 22 Board of Education meeting.
Summer school will run from May 28 through June 20, with no classes on June 19 in observance of Juneteenth. The elementary program operates from 8:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., while the secondary program runs from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m..
At the elementary level, enrollment had already surpassed 300 students, with a goal of reaching close to 400 before the session begins. Morning sessions will focus on academics, reading, writing, and math, while afternoons will feature project-based learning, science experiments, physical education, and archery for older elementary students. To boost attendance, daily incentives and special activities such as a petting zoo, science demonstrations, and field trips are planned.
On the secondary side, around 87 students had enrolled as of the presentation, with further growth anticipated following sixth-grade transition events. Middle school students will participate in a revamped four-class model, including an introduction to middle school course and three elective-style “fun” classes such as nature exploration, drama, and outdoor activities like daily field trips to Smithville Lake and Watkins Mill State Park.
At the high school level, programming has been streamlined to maximize efficiency. Courses like personal finance and health will now be taught virtually through a locally developed platform, reducing dependency on external programs like Launch. Additional offerings include human performance strength training, ACT prep courses, and a new Freshman Foundations program aimed at easing the transition to high school. Summer credit recovery will also continue into July.
Administrators reported that summer school is expected to generate approximately $150,000 in state reimbursements, depending on final enrollment numbers and transportation costs. Staffing plans are flexible, with teachers informed that assignments may shift based on enrollment trends after the first few days.
Tomlinson Outlines Plan to Spend Earnings to Avoid Arbitrage Fee
Superintendent Jaret Tomlinson presented a financial strategy at the April 22 Board of Education meeting to avoid incurring a costly arbitrage fee associated with the district’s lease-purchase financing for Lewis Elementary School.
When the district secured a $35 million lease-purchase agreement to fund Lewis Elementary’s construction, the full amount was received upfront. While construction progressed, the unspent funds were invested, generating more than $1 million in interest earnings. However, under federal tax regulations, public entities must spend such earnings within a specified timeframe or face an arbitrage rebate—a financial penalty designed to prevent public institutions from profiting from tax-exempt bonds.
If the district fails to fully expend the remaining invested funds by the end of May, it would owe approximately $377,000 back to the federal government with no corresponding benefit to the district.
To avoid this loss, Tomlinson outlined a swift plan to spend the interest balance on eligible capital improvement projects, as required by the terms of the lease-purchase agreement. The funds must be used exclusively for physical facility upgrades or capital purchases, and not for salaries, supplies, or general operating expenses.
Planned projects include repaving the Excelsior Springs High School parking lot at an estimated cost of $800,000, replacing the aging roof at the district’s central office for about $280,000, purchasing four vehicles currently under lease, and completing installations such as new cafeteria tables and wall protection treatments at Elkhorn and Cornerstone Elementary Schools.
Tomlinson stressed the urgency of the situation, noting that projects must be approved and expenditures fully completed, with checks issued by May 25. “We want to do everything humanly possible to make sure we don’t pay a $377,000 bill and get nothing for it,” Tomlinson said. “That would be a terrible use of public taxpayer dollars.”
Board members expressed support for the plan, acknowledging that quick action would protect district resources while also improving facilities.
Update on Fraud Case Involving District Funds
During his report, Superintendent Jaret Tomlinson also provided an update on a two-year-old case in which the district was defrauded out of more than $250,000. (Read more about this case here)
Tomlinson explained that an individual impersonated a district vendor, submitted a false payment request, and successfully diverted funds before the error could be detected. By the time the district identified the fraud, the funds had already been converted into cryptocurrency and transferred overseas, making recovery impossible.
The perpetrator was recently located and arrested in Texas but has since been released on bond. While the Clay County Sheriff’s Office continues to pursue extradition, Tomlinson noted that given the low bond amount, it is unlikely the individual will be returned to Missouri to face charges. However, a warrant remains active, and the individual may still face legal consequences in the future.
“We probably won’t see a penny from it,” Tomlinson said, “but at least they might eventually have to pay the piper.”
June Meeting Moved to Support Fiscal Year-End Financial Planning
At the recommendation of Superintendent Jaret Tomlinson, the Excelsior Springs Board of Education voted to move its regular June meeting to later in the month to better accommodate year-end financial planning.
Rather than holding the meeting on the second Tuesday as usual, the board agreed to meet on June 24. The shift allows district administrators more time to finalize actuals for the current budget cycle and prepare necessary amendments ahead of the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Tomlinson noted that the change also provides flexibility to address any final budget adjustments before submitting the district’s Annual Secretary of the Board Report (ASBR) to the state.
The motion to reschedule was approved unanimously.
Board Reorganizes Following Election, Names New Leadership for 2024-25
Following a brief recess, the Excelsior Springs Board of Education reconvened to swear in newly elected and re-elected members after the April 8 municipal election. Kalyn Good and Tray Harkins, both re-elected, and Brett Jones, newly appointed during a special session on April 16, each took the oath of office administered by Board Secretary Lisa Shelton.
The board then proceeded with its annual election of officers for the 2024-25 school year. Tray Harkins was unanimously re-elected as board president. Before the vote, Board Member Traci White addressed what she described as “community chatter,” referencing the relatively close election results. She affirmed her strong support for Harkins, stating, “Tray is the best person right now to lead our board. Hands down. We believe wholeheartedly that he is the right person for this role.” Her comments were met with agreement from fellow board members, emphasizing their collective confidence in Harkins’ continued leadership.
Jill Evert was elected as the new vice president, filling the position vacated earlier this year by Troy Snelling. Dr. Mark Bullimore, the district’s incoming superintendent, was appointed as board treasurer to help ensure continuity and oversight of financial planning as the district moves into the next fiscal year. Lisa Shelton was reappointed as board secretary, with members taking a moment to recognize her on National School Board Secretary Day.
The board also designated Darren McKown as the district’s Missouri School Boards’ Association (MSBA) delegate, and Brett Jones was appointed as the alternate delegate — a tradition often reserved for the newest board member.
In accordance with district policy, board members completed their annual review of the School Board Ethics Policy and submitted signed acknowledgments before adjourning.
The reorganized board closed the meeting with a unanimous vote, laying the groundwork for the district’s continued work in the 2024-25 school year.
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