Despite efforts to overcome budget cuts, alternative school in Stoddard County disbands

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Dr. Nicholas Thiele, superintendent of the Bloomfield School District, told Stoddard County commissioners on Monday that the school districts that formerly participated in the county alternative school have opted to no longer participate and were seeking to inventory the equipment and materials to be liquidated.

Thiele addressed the commission at its morning meeting and also asked if the county had purchased any equipment or materials used at the alternative school.

Thiele said several county school districts had met in an effort to keep the school open after the Dexter School District decided to opt out of the county alternative school and set up an alternative school itself. Thiele said the venture was too costly for the other districts, which were facing cutbacks in state funding.

The Bloomfield, Puxico, Bell City and Advance school districts were considering keeping the alternative school open, with the Bloomfield district in charge of the administration. The Bloomfield School Board voted at a previous meeting to set up an alternative school using current staff and facilities in an attempt to save money.

Thiele told the commission that the Dexter district had removed some computers and tables with the approval of the other districts involved. He said there was no up-to-date inventory of the materials at the school and the first move would be to be get an inventory and set the value of the equipment and materials. He said the materials would be distributed equally to the remaining participating districts. He said the Dexter district indicated it did not want anything beyond the computers it had already taken.

"Our goal is to get this resolved before the start of the school year," Thiele said.

Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis said, "I think it is a mistake, and that is all I'm going to say."

"I'm really disappointed," Commissioner Frank Sifford said. "The county spent thousands of dollars for the facility. I sure wouldn't have supported doing that if we knew this was going to happen."

Sifford asked Thiele whether many students who had been kept in school because of the county alternative school would now wind up out of school without a chance to better themselves.

"It will lead to more out-of-school suspensions," Thiele replied. "It was a real disappointment to me."

Thiele said the issue couldn't be resolved in favor of keeping the alternative school "without all the districts participating."

Mathis said as far as he knew, the county had no materials or equipment at the school, but he did ask Thiele that any removal of personal inventory not "damage or deface the property."

Thiele said it was his understanding that the lease ran through the end of the current year but would not be renewed.