Your letters for July 26, 2024

By NewsPress Now

Your letters for July 26, 2024

Show teachers

they are valued

Among several norms that I committed to when joining the Saint Joseph School District Board of Education this past April was to “serve as an advocate for K-12 public education with student achievement/outcomes as the focus.” Advocating for public education comes easily for me. I credit public education for providing me the skills and credentials to not only provide for my family but to enjoy the wide compliment of everything life has to offer, from literature to sports to wood shop and performing arts. Honoring the part of the norm referring to focusing on student outcomes is much tougher. The inputs that make up the student achievement equation are many and complex, but it would be hard to argue that those who teach our children aren’t at or near the top of the list of influencers.

Charlie Stinson began his teaching career in my hometown of Atchison, Kansas in 1948. He taught woodshop to my dad and his two brothers. When I showed up for shop class at Atchison High in the fall of 1982, he wanted to know “which one of those Moore boys do you belong to?” Mr. Stinson drew students to his class from every walk of life, rich and poor, academics and trades-oriented, male and female, black and white. On one occasion, a classmate stayed seated in the classroom area while the rest of us went to work out in the shop. Mr. Stinson asked him what he thought he was doing. My classmate replied, “Mr. Stinson, you know I couldn’t pay the bill on my last project so I can’t work.” Mr. Stinson explained that just because he didn’t have a lot of money didn’t mean he couldn’t work. I watched as he and my classmate walked to the scrap bin, cut the oddly shaped pieces of wood into strips, glued the strips together and made a piece of wood large enough to serve as a kitchen cutting board. Four decades later, I still refer to this and many other lessons I learned from Mr. Stinson when it comes to organization, pride in work, and treating people with dignity.

On the August 6 ballot, we can support today’s teachers, and in fact, all district staff by voting YES to proposition St. Joseph Staff. The ballot language, like school funding in general, is hard to understand but here’s the bottom line: We can provide teachers and support staff a $2,750 per year pay raise. This represents a significant percentage pay increase for staff at the lower end of the pay scale and a modest percentage increase for those in higher paying roles. This will make us more competitive with surrounding districts so we can better retain the great staff we have while recruiting the new staff we need. At what cost, you should rightfully ask? As reference, passage of this proposition will cost the owner of a home with an assessed value of $200,000 an additional $18.86 per month.

At any given moment, our district has dozens of roles that go unfilled due, at least in part, to St. Joseph being on the low end of the pay scale. These job openings negatively impact current staff in that they must “fill in” for the open positions. The results of this understaffing came through loud and clear this past March when the school board narrowly voted against the adoption of a four-day school week. Through passionate and well-founded arguments on both sides of that issue, one thing stood out. Teachers need our help! Everyday there are teachers thoughtfully and caringly sharing knowledge and life lessons every bit as valuable as the ones Mr. Stinson handed down to me. On August 6, I invite you to join me in showing them how much they are valued.

Mike Moore

Vice President

SJSD Board of Education



Long-term situation

Recently there have been a lot of statements made about the County’s jail proposal that I feel only tell part of the story. The County has been studying future inmate housing needs since 2012. Over this period the County has invested in numerous efforts to address our rising inmate population including adding beds to the existing facility, utilizing treatment courts, the Prosecutor’s diversion program and increased pre-trial release services. Even with all these efforts our jail is full and very frequently over capacity, inmates are sleeping on the floor, and we are paying to have inmates housed in other counties. We currently have inmates in three other counties and have been told they cannot accept additional inmates. We are now talking with jails in Joplin and Springfield.

Not only is our jail overcrowded, but it is also 26 years old and rapidly deteriorating. Inmates are finding ways to break off and make weapons out of the rusted metal pieces of the vents, shower doors, bunks and other items making it an unsafe for the other inmates but also making it a dangerous working environment for jail staff.

Several people focused on parts of the statements made the County’s jail consultant. The consultant estimates a need for 464 beds in 30 years. The number of beds proposed in the County’s plan is only 7 beds larger than the consultant’s estimated need. I have seen and heard statements from people about the proposed tax who were not part of the meetings where different scenarios were discussed. The County investigated different tax rates and different lengths. While no one can predict all the economic variables that can occur over 20 years, the current proposal was the only one that didn’t have major shortages. If there ends up being excess revenue, it can only be spent on the facility and its operations, and it may prevent the County from raising property taxes or having to come back to the voters at the end of the proposed tax. There have also been comments about housing for other counties. While there was a brief conversation with Clinton County to possibly get a lower interest rate based on a special program if a rural county was involved, there has been no commitments to house for other counties.

Even if approved, the County will still be dealing with this situation for possibly the next four to six years. It will take time for the new expansion to be built, move current inmates into it and then complete renovations of the old jail.

Sheriff Mark S. Owen

Platte County