Completed in 1941 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, the original high school building still stands today, after a rambling downhill drive from an interstate exit with a lone gas station. The schoolhouse is only open Tuesday through Friday. Like one-third of districts in Missouri, kids are in the building from 8:00AM to 3:50PM only four days a week.
This is a “one roof” school district, referring to how all the 300 students are in a single, connected building. They use the same cafeteria, gym, and other amenities. Unlike some, this district does include a high school, with graduating classes around 30 students. Elementary kids are on the newer end of the building, with a playground out back. The school includes one room set aside for 15 preschoolers. At the older end of the building is the high school; in-between, the middle school. The high school science lab has been completely renovated, thanks to a fortuitous grant.
As with most school districts, high school sports are a community focus. The “Wolfpack” is not only the mascot, but a symbol of the small community’s fierce spirit. While they do not have football or soccer, the school has baseball, softball, basketball, cheerleading, track and field, speech and debate, and even esports. The golf team of two young women recently went to the state qualifier, with an enthusiastic sendoff.
Spaghetti dinners or other specialties often accompany school and community events. The coat closet giveaway is accompanied by a shared meal. Kids receive not only breakfast and lunch but also a snack before heading home for the day. This is by design, as 61% of the students in the schoolhouse fall under the poverty line.
Teachers in the district make an average of $41,700, an often-criticized amount. In this context, the schoolhouse is an appealing employer with stable hours, insurance, and retirement. The teachers have worked hard on raising reading scores and the overall school improvement scores increased by double digits this year.
In this state, schools are mostly funded by local property taxes. The district’s median housing value is 40% the state average. This means there are few funds to maintain the old schoolhouse. The basement leaks extensively; the schoolhouse was closed multiple times last year for water main issues. The state funding is supposed to cover transportation costs, although school bus costs went up by twofold this year.
The tax base is small, without any major industry or employers in the 136 square-mile district. The maintenance needed on the schoolhouse is simply too extensive for the community’s taxes to cover. The largest cost to the district is teacher pay and benefits, and since the legislature raised the minimum salary the past few years, there’s no money left over to fix the crumbling schoolhouse.
The state funding formula is being revisited this year by a task force appointed by the governor. After that recalculation, it is likely the schoolhouse will no longer hold high school basketball games, or possibly any children at all.
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Art by Lara Schaberg
