STE. GENEVIEVE — This information includes highlights from the Ste. Genevieve County R-II Board of Education’s July 22, 2025, Regular meeting. This is an unofficial record. The official Board Minutes are posted on the district website and are located on Simbli, linked here. The video of the meeting will be found on the district’s Youtube Channel, SGDragonsTV.
MSBA MONTHLY REPORT
The July Board Report takes a look at how a busy legislative session affects school policy and what to watch for as the new school year approaches. Although two bills are getting the most attention, there are many policy updates coming. In addition, the monthly report takes a look back at the recent Delegate Assembly, where Shelly Mantel of the Mountain View – Birch Tree School District was sworn in as MSBA President.
The MSBA Board Report is a short monthly video featuring the latest news from MSBA and about public education in Missouri. The program is designed to be shown during local school board meetings.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Board members and administrators listen to concerns and respond when appropriate by mail or telephone at a later date. The Board does not respond within the meeting to those who come to offer public comment. In order to speak during public participation, a Public Comment Form must be filled out and submitted to the Board President prior to the beginning of the meeting. See Policy BDDH-1: Public Participation at Board Meetings for guidelines and procedures.
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
2025 School Tax Rate Hearing.
The 2025 School Tax Rate Hearing will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. prior to the Regular Board of Education meeting. (The August Board meeting is moved back a week to provide the district enough time to gather information from the Assessor’s Office.)
2025-2026 School Year Date Reminders.
First Day of School: Monday, Aug. 18
Open House Events:
- ECC & BLE Pre-K: Wednesday, Aug. 13
- BLE & SGE Kindergarten: Wednesday, Aug. 13
- BLE & SGE Grades 1 – 5: Thursday, Aug. 14
- SGMS: Thursday, Aug. 21
- SGHS: Wednesday, Aug. 27
Governance Team Award.
Congratulations to the Ste. Genevieve County R-II School District Board of Education on being recognized with the Missouri School Boards’ Association 2025 Governance Team Award! Our Board is among 23 Missouri school boards earning this year’s recognition. This recognition is based on the outstanding commitment of the school board and superintendent to ongoing professional development, regional and statewide leadership, and active participation in legislative advocacy for public schools.
Board members and district administrators were formally recognized at MSBA’s Summer Summit on June 16 in Branson, Missouri, during an awards luncheon.
2025 MSBA – Board Member Master Certification.
Congratulations to Board of Education president David Bova and member Joshua Gettinger, who achieved Master Board Member Certification from the Missouri School Boards’ Association. To earn this certification, board members must achieve Advanced Certification, earn at least 12 additional training credits, complete annual Refresher training requirement through MSBA, read two books related to school board service, attend at least two MSBA regional or statewide events and write a brief essay relating their study to their board service.
Annual Communications Report.
Communications Director Bailey Otto presented the Communications Department’s annual report, which included an overview of the department’s duties, a review of the 2024-2025 department accomplishments, and a preview of the 2025-2026 department initiatives. The presentation can be seen here:
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Prop SG Update.
Superintendent Dr. Taylor provided an update on the ongoing Prop SG projects.
Early Childhood:
- The Ste. Genevieve County R-II School District held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly constructed Early Childhood Center on Tuesday, July 22. In attendance were students, families, faculty and staff, former district leaders, current and former Board of Education members, Facility Committee members, Prop SG Campaign Committee members, campaign donors, community leaders, business owners, elected representatives, Brockmiller Construction, Inc., and KRJ Architects. The center houses tuition-based preschool, Early Childhood Special Education, the Parents as Teachers program, and free developmental screenings. The facility includes ten classrooms for preschool and special education, as well as dedicated spaces for occupational, physical, and speech therapy. Additional features include a kitchen, multipurpose room, sensory room, nurse’s office, and an ADA-compliant, fully accessible playground. Following the ribbon-cutting, the building was open to the community for guided tours or self-paced walk-throughs. Families explored the new learning spaces, while children enjoyed coloring and hands-on activities in the classrooms and multipurpose room. Before heading home, students received goodie bags, cookies, and a coloring page featuring the new Little Dragon logo—adding a fun and memorable touch to the day.
- Check out the floor plan of 10 classrooms, as well as a kitchen, multipurpose room, and more.
- See some recent construction progress photos here. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rR2cmGQxml7hw2w_fZrRpbdVzOt_4dYa
- Crews are working on eradicating weeds, seeding and adding straw to the landscaping.
- The installation of the retention basin will begin this next week.
- The City of Ste. Genevieve is determining the best location for a stop sign at the junction of Maple and Virginia.
- The new center is scheduled to open for the 2025-2026 school year, and continues to accept preschool applications for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. Click here to apply: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfxSstE8XUSeYhKpFi0WjTIdGvKiO2wZOp_vQnZIhvlKI-Dpg/viewform
Ste. Genevieve Elementary:
- We’re looking forward to the main entrance being open for the return to school in August!
- The design of Ste. Genevieve Elementary’s new gym and on-grade, ADA-accessible entrance with offices can be seen here. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ISIlvkuSAHLpiuPZWNKTyM1KnDWUaauN/view
- A rendering of the exterior of the new addition can be seen here.
- See some recent construction progress photos here.
- The HVAC system is currently being balanced.
- Crews will begin to seed and straw in the next two weeks.
- The bleachers have been installed in the new gym.
- The punch list date for this project is set for Aug. 6.
- The parking lot has been repaved, and will be striped soon.
- Renovation of the old gymnasium continues, and this area will become two classrooms for the upcoming school year. We anticipate that these rooms will be ready for the start of school, as well.
Wrestling:
- The floor plan includes a practice wrestling area, office and storage space, locker rooms and restrooms, and a golf simulation room. The building will be situated behind the PAC.
- Currently, approximately $140,000 in savings has been identified through the Value Engineering process.
- Currently, this project is estimated to cost about $3.2 million. While this figure is slightly higher than originally anticipated, moving the building’s location has drastically increased the amount of sitework needed.
- District administration met with Metallic Building Systems this past week to discuss design and material options.
- Once the Ste. Genevieve Elementary addition is complete, crews will hit the ground running on the wrestling facility.
- The district still plans to renovate the current wrestling room and weight room to provide additional space and updated equipment to better support our student-athletes.
NEW BUSINESS
Extra Duty Stipend Adjustment – High School Speech & Debate.
The Board approved the increase of the High School Speech & Debate extra duty stipend from 6% for head sponsor and 3% for assistant sponsor to 10% and 7%, respectively. The proposed stipend increase was deemed appropriate due to the extensive time commitment, responsibilities, and professional demands placed on the Speech & Debate coaches, which include supervising numerous weekend competitions—many requiring travel—and organizing the district tournament for seven consecutive years. The recommendation aligns the stipends with those of other programs with similar workloads, recognizing the coaches’ dedication and the value the program brings to students.
Extra Duty Stipend Adjustment – High School Emeralds Dance Coach.
The Board approved the increase of the High School Emeralds Head Dance Coach extra duty stipend from 5% to 10%. The proposed stipend increase for the Emeralds Dance coach is based on the expanded responsibilities of the role, including added summer practices, a camp, and new competitions that have significantly increased the time commitment. Additionally, the current stipend is lower than all other head coaching positions and even assistant roles, making an adjustment necessary to reflect the workload and maintain equity across coaching stipends.
Adult Food Service Prices for 2025-2026.
Adult Food Service Prices for the 2025-2026 school year were tabled, as the district has not yet received the information needed from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Student prices were approved at the June 24, 2025 Regular Meeting.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The Board of Education will hold its Tax Rate Hearing and its Regularly Scheduled Meeting on Monday, Aug. 26, 2025, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room at the Early Childhood Center (1200 Maple Drive, Ste. Genevieve).