Fox C-6 Seeks Community Input on Next Five Years as Board Holds Tax Rate Steady

The Fox C-6 Board of Education voted to keep the district’s property tax rate unchanged for 2026 during its Sept. 15 meeting, while also hearing updates on a student-led safety improvement, Missouri’s new A-F school grading system, state funding and the district’s long-term improvement planning.

The board also approved an early-notice stipend program designed to give Fox C-6 more time to recruit teachers and administrators who will need to be replaced next school year.

Before the regular meeting, district officials held a public tax-rate hearing detailing changes in assessed property values and explaining how Fox C-6 arrived at its recommended levy.

District Keeps Tax Rate at 4.1867

Chief Operations Officer Tracy Schmidt told the board that Fox C-6’s total assessed valuation increased by approximately $26.1 million, bringing the district’s total assessed valuation to approximately $1.407 billion.

Because 2026 is not a reassessment year, the increase was considerably smaller than what can occur during reassessment years. Schmidt explained that Missouri’s Hancock Amendment limits revenue growth as assessed property values increase.

The district could have levied a rate of 4.2033, according to Schmidt, but administrators recommended maintaining last year’s rate of 4.1867.

That rate consists of 3.6966 for the incidental fund, 0.1000 for capital projects and 0.3901 for debt service.

Schmidt described keeping the lower rate as a voluntary rollback and said the decision was connected to the district’s commitment to voters when discussing its no-tax-rate-increase bond proposal.

“We talked to our public about having a no tax rate increase bond,” Schmidt said. “We think that’s very important. That was something that we discussed with our public. So we’re staying true to our word in keeping that levy the same.”

The board later unanimously approved the recommended 4.1867 rate during the regular meeting.

District officials estimate the levy would generate approximately $58.9 million in property-tax revenue if collections reached 100 percent, an increase of just over $1 million compared with the previous fiscal year.

Fox C-6 also shifted 22 cents of its levy from capital projects to operating expenses this year. Officials said the shift will generate a little more than $3 million for operating expenses at a time when the district is dealing with reduced state revenue and higher costs.

That leaves the capital-project levy at 10 cents, its lowest level since 2006. District leaders said recently approved bond projects will allow Fox C-6 to continue addressing needs including HVAC systems, roofs, safety and security while less money flows into the regular capital fund.

Student-Led Project Creates Safer Walking Route

One of the evening’s most notable updates came from student ambassador Owen Howell, who described a safety issue he noticed near a school parking area last year.

Howell said students had been walking alongside the road near the lower parking lot during dismissal, creating conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles.

Rather than simply raising the concern, Howell began collecting information to demonstrate the need for an improvement.

He recorded traffic conditions and created a survey that received more than 300 responses from students, parents and bus drivers. Howell told the board that more than 90 percent of respondents supported safety improvements in the area.

Howell then worked with district administrators and staff to develop a plan for a sidewalk across the grassy portion of the area.

The project became a reality over the summer, with both the sidewalk and connecting crosswalks completed before the beginning of the school year.

Board members praised Howell for identifying the problem and doing the work necessary to help move the project forward.

Board member April Moeckel, who said she regularly drives through the area as a parent, described the previous situation as stressful with students walking near traffic.

“When I saw the sidewalk going, and I had no idea that you were doing all this, I was like, ‘This is genius. Why has this never been done?’” Moekel said. “So thank you very much. It was a great idea.”

Fox C-6 Watches Changes at the State Level

Superintendent Dr. Paul Fregeau also used his report to discuss two developments from the Missouri State Board of Education meeting held earlier that day.

The state board approved a new A-F school and district grading framework, which was developed following Gov. Mike Kehoe’s January executive order calling for public schools and districts to receive letter grades based on a 100-point scale. Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said the framework will consider measures including academic achievement, student growth, success-ready graduate indicators and graduation rates.

Dr. Fregeau told the Fox board that the initial information will rely on 2024-25 data, meaning the first results will describe performance from an earlier school year rather than current conditions.

He cautioned residents against interpreting the new letter grade as the district’s accreditation status and questioned how useful older data will be to families trying to evaluate present-day performance.

DESE confirmed following the state meeting that the approved framework will initially be piloted using 2024-25 data before public release.

Dr. Fregeau also discussed the state education budget.

At the Sept. 15 meeting, the Missouri State Board approved DESE’s proposed fiscal year 2028 budget except for the foundation formula request. The board instead directed that the foundation-formula request remain at the fiscal year 2027 level of approximately $4.283 billion, roughly $270 million below the amount DESE said would fully fund the formula.

During the Fox meeting, board members questioned what flat state funding would mean as expenses such as fuel and salaries continue to change.

District officials said Fox C-6 had already taken a conservative approach when preparing its current budget.

District Says Conservative State Funding Estimate Has Helped

Fox C-6 budgeted its State Adequacy Target, or SAT, at $6,760 per weighted average daily attendance, according to the discussion.

Schmidt said actual payments during the first two months came in at about $6,749, compared with a fully funded amount of approximately $7,145.

Because the district anticipated receiving less than the fully funded amount, officials said the difference between their projection and actual state revenue has so far been relatively small.

Higher than expected revenue in other areas, including Proposition C funding, has helped offset some of the difference.

“We were lucky to be conservative in our calculation,” Schmidt said.

Officials cautioned that the district’s financial picture can fluctuate considerably throughout the year because revenues and expenses do not arrive evenly from month to month.

The district receives a significant portion of its local property-tax revenue in December, January and February, while large expenses may be concentrated in other months.

Schmidt said the district’s working budget currently projects an overall surplus of approximately $721,000, despite financial reports showing expenses exceeding revenues at this early point in the fiscal year because of the timing of payments and receipts.

Community Asked to Help Shape the Next Five Years

Fox C-6 is also continuing work on its 2026-27 Continuous School Improvement Plan, or CSIP.

Dr. Fregeau thanked residents who participated in recent town halls at Fox Middle School and Seckman Middle School and said staff members throughout the district have also been providing feedback.

The district has released a community survey that will be open for submission through Oct. 2.

Officials emphasized that participation is not limited to parents of current Fox C-6 students. Community members can complete the district’s Strategic Plan/CSIP survey here through Oct. 2.

“We want as many data points as possible to determine what’s our future for the next five years, what our initiatives are going to be,” Dr. Fregeau said.

Consultants are expected to return to the board in October with themes and patterns identified from the public feedback.

Early Notice Stipends Approved to Help Teacher Recruitment

The board also renewed an incentive intended to give administrators more time to fill vacancies created by employees who already know they plan to leave the district.

Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Nathan Birch said the ongoing teacher shortage makes it important for Fox C-6 to begin recruiting as early as possible.

Under the program, eligible employees who submit notice of retirement or separation on or before Dec. 18, 2026, will receive $1,000.

Those submitting notice between Dec. 19 and Jan. 8, 2027, will receive $500.

Employees on the teacher salary schedule, along with administrators, directors and assistant directors, are eligible.

Birch stressed that the program is not intended to encourage employees to leave.

“This is not meant to encourage anyone to separate,” Birch said. “With the teacher shortage, we need to retain all the staff we can.”

Instead, he said, the district wants employees who have already decided to leave to provide notice early enough for Fox C-6 to compete for candidates before the hiring pool begins to shrink.

The board unanimously approved the stipend program.

Late Starts, Employee Benefits and Policy Updates

Dr. Fregeau also reminded families that the district’s scheduled late-start days were beginning that week and said information, frequently asked questions and the late-start calendar had been distributed through district communications.

Board members approved an agreement with Gallagher Benefit Services to serve as the district’s benefits broker and consultant after Gallagher’s bid had previously been selected in August.

The board also completed the first reading of several policy revisions recommended by the Missouri School Boards’ Association.

Some board members questioned whether proposed changes dealing with employee evaluations were too general, while administrators said the broader language could give Fox C-6 flexibility to develop an evaluation system suited to the district’s needs. The policies are scheduled to return for a second reading and possible adoption at the board’s Oct. 6 meeting.

The Sept. 15 meeting ultimately covered issues ranging from statewide school funding and property taxes to long-range planning and employee recruitment.

But one of the evening’s most immediate examples of how district decisions reach students could already be seen outside: a new sidewalk and crosswalk system that began with a student noticing a problem, gathering evidence, and asking whether something could be done about it.

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