EDUCATION: DISTRICT REPORT CARDS MADE PUBLIC TODAY

Missouri school districts will officially release reports today detailing academic, financial and assessment information from the 1999-2000 school year.

Public schools are required to make district profiles available to district patrons by Dec. 1 each year. Kelly and Kelso C-7 school districts completed the state-mandated reports ahead of schedule and released them to the Southeast Missourian for publication.

School officials are required to make the profiles available to local legislators, news media and the general public. Some area schools further meet the mandate by distributing the information in libraries and stores throughout the community or by posting the profiles on Internet Web sites.

The district profiles, often called report cards, show the improvements and failures in a school system for the previous year. Details regarding college testing scores, achievement test results, staff salaries, student-to-teacher ratios, per-pupil expenditures, revenue and tax rates are included in the reports, which also compare local figures to state averages.

The reports are due annually on Dec. 1 and were mandated with passage of the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993.

Kelly School District

Schools Superintendent Don Abner said 1999-2000 was a year of improvement for Kelly schools.

The Board of Education was able to hire additional teachers and reduce class sizes in some areas, and student achievement on Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests "will certainly put us in a good light," Abner said.

Schools are always motivated to improve achievement in areas included in the profile, and Abner said he is monitoring the district's student-to-classroom teacher ratios. Currently, nearly all classrooms in the district fall within size recommendations preferred by the state.

However, a steadily growing enrollment has the school full to capacity, which means unless more space is added soon the district will begin to exceed state recommendations.

"It's not reflected in the report, but facilities are still an issue," said Abner. "To some degree, that limits us on our ability to reduce student-teacher rations. If you don't have the classroom space, you just can't do it."

Kelso C-7 School District

Faced with a dwindling enrollment, a tight budget and low teacher salaries, Kelso C-7 Superintendent David Newell said student attendance and achievement were the bright spots in his district's report card this year.

Newell, in his first year at Kelso C-7, said the 96.6 percent average student attendance rate puts his district well ahead of the state average. Students also outperformed state averages in most cases on MAP assessments last year.

But some would say the highlight of the report was the 96.9 percent of parents who attended parent-teacher conferences last year, he said. The high attendance rate was likely due to the district's elementary status and its small enrollment.

"It's probably a little of both," Newell said. "Parent's tend to go to their conferences more when the kids are in elementary school."

A deficit-spending year last year has Newell watching the spending pattern this year, and he would like to find a way to increase staff salaries, which fall well below state averages.

Newell said a dwindling enrollment due in part to high participation in parochial schools in the community also has hurt the district financially. Enrollment is the basis for a large portion of state funding, which Kelso has seen reduced in recent years.

"Our enrollment is down another 17 students this year from what the report indicates," said Newell. "That kind of puts us at a disadvantage when it comes to funding."