Cardinal Kids United (Against School Redistricting)

On June 26th, I met with several members of the Cardinal Kids United Committee in Shelbina, Missouri. In attendance was Chrissy Barry (Clarence), Cele Gilbert (Shelbina), Selena Gaines (Shelbina), Amy Harre (Clarence), Nicole Roth (Clarence), Bethany Murray (Clarence), Jennifer Johnson (Clarence), Jill Douglass (Shelbina), and Paula Gough (Shelbina). Due to ball games, Emmy Langhammer (Clarence) was unable to attend, however, I contacted Emmy through messenger and obtained answers from questions that I asked at the interview in Shelbina.

To quickly catch anyone up that is now tuning in on what has been a very turbulent summer between both the Shelby County R-lV and Macon R-1 School District and individuals living within the area, shortly before the April 3rd Election, petitioners in both school districts (verified by both the Shelby County and Macon County Clerk) gathered enough signatures required by state statute to put the issue of School Redistricting on the ballot for patrons to vote on it in the August 7th Election. Patrons living within the Macon R-1 and Shelby County R-lV School Districts will vote on Proposition 1 (School Boundary Change). By state statute, either school board is powerless when it came to the petitions – they had to comply, and both accepted and recognized the signatures formally at their board meetings. The committee stated that the petition was meant to get the issue to the voters. Several committee members expressed concern over the petition, “The individuals that proposed the petitions have often said they felt like they weren’t listened to. Out of the 100+ signatures they received to put this on the ballot, roughly a dozen were from those who have kids in the district. Does anyone find that wrong? They say this is a ‘generational decision,’ but no one asked us how we felt, you know the people who actually have kids in the district and have been worrying all summer on whether or not we will get to continue raising our kids in the community and school district that we love.” One Clarence resident stated, “The people in Clarence who are for redistricting are worried about their town. They don’t want to see their town dissipate, which I sympathize with that – I don’t want to see it go down the drain either. However, they are forgetting the people that are in their town right now.”

Cardinal Kids United was the first committee to be formed once the issue of School Redistricting became the forefront of a ballot initiative on the August 7th ballot. Explained at the interview, the committee was formed of concerned parents who have kids in the district from both Clarence and Shelbina to make sure that the current students stay South Shelby Cardinals and in the future, parents that decide and make the choice to move back to the district and the Clarence area, can have their kids go to Shelby County R-lV. Several parents from Clarence that took part of the interview stated, “We made the life decision to move back to Clarence to raise our kids and ultimately, have them grow up in a community and a school district as we did prior to heading off to college.” Several of these parents stated that if redistricting is passed by voters on August 7th, they will sell their life long homes and move closer to Shelbina to stay in the district. The committee has received the support of well over 250 patrons in the Clarence area saying that they don’t want to redistrict (a non-legal document of signatures was submitted to me prior to the interview where I looked over the papers).

One of the first questions that I asked the committee was the “state of the campaign” heading into the election. Everyone present said that each day they learn something new, however, considering that this has never happened in the State of Missouri there are no precedents to follow. One member stated, “The current state of redistricting is, well, it is uncharted territory. There are so many unknowns because this has never happened in the history of the state of Missouri. There is no game plan. It is

unfolding as we go. This is hard for people; humans need a game plan.” One of the biggest complaints throughout this process are those that are feeling that they’ve been bullied – especially on Social Media. When asked about the bullying claims, several members stated that it is not their place to determine if someone is bullied. Furthermore, they stated that they can’t control everyone who may support their cause and what private citizens say or do on their own time. “As a committee, we have been respectful. We are very passionate about our school district. Would you sit on the sidelines when a proposal as Proposition 1, has the potential to drastically change the school district that has stood strong in northeast Missouri for decades? How would you feel if your district is being bashed? Disparaging claims hurled toward Superintendent Maddex and board members at South Shelby. How do you think that makes us feel”, stated one individual.

The committee moved on to talking about the opportunities that South Shelby offers. One of the first things that was stated was from Amy Harre who is the Treasurer of Cardinal Kids United. Harre is a Clarence Area Resident, Macon Graduate, and has two sons in the Shelby County R-lV School District. “Macon is not a bad school. In fact, it’s a wonderful school. I am a graduate from there. However, South Shelby is a wonderful school too. For a district it’s size, it has many opportunities, similar to Macon. Respectfully, I want my kids and myself to stay South Shelby Cardinals. I want these women around me and their kids to stay South Shelby Cardinals. We chose to go here, Macon just isn’t for us.” Covered by Cardinal Kids United on their social media page, backed up by counselors in both districts, “South Shelby High School offers a total of 70 dual credit college hours (online + taught by a teacher) and the Macon High School offers a total of 44 dual credit college hours (online + taught by a teacher). Furthermore, the Macon Area Career Center (Vo-Tech) offers 29 dual credit college hours – these courses are available to ALL (South Shelby, Macon, etc.) students enrolled in the Early Childhood or Business Programs that offer these courses.” College preparation became a focal point in the redistricting issue. Jill Douglass stated, “My son graduated from South Shelby with 20+ dual credits. He enrolled as a sophomore at Northwest University in Maryville. He received a quality education at South Shelby.” Several members of the committee mentioned statistics from DESE and other sources about performance percentages and scores between the districts such as Math and Reading Proficiencies – in some areas Macon R-1 out performs South Shelby and in other areas, South Shelby out performs Macon R-1. The Macon Vo-Tech has become a focal point in the redistricting issue. Currently, South Shelby among several other area schools travel to the vo-tech in Macon for classes. Automotive, Welding, Building Trades, Early Childhood, and several other two-year programs, all students (including Macon and South Shelby) start their junior year.

In the previous April election, voters in the Shelby County R-lV School District approved of a tax levy increase to pay for the construction of a new elementary building on the main campus where the current district middle and high school are located – consolidation of the Clarence and Shelbina Elementary. The consolidation has become one of the main points of why individuals felt it was necessary to redistrict with several district patrons stating that they felt like they weren’t being listened to by the School Board. School Board President of South Shelby, Aaron Gaines, mentioned in a Letter to the Editor that school redistricting wasn’t originally started due to the opportunities Macon has, but more of leverage against the Shelby County R-lV School Board to keep the Clarence Elementary open. Gaines specifically recalls an encounter with a citizen in which he was told that if the election results in April were nullified, the petitions would be dropped. Gaines asked this individual to come forward to the school board as this would be a board decision – no one ever came forward to the board.

Superintendent Maddex presented two town halls up until the April Vote surrounding consolidation – he presented one time in Clarence and the other time in Shelbina. He outlined some of the reasons of why consolidation was the right way to go with decreased enrollment district wide, increase costs with keeping both elementary buildings running, the cost it takes to educate a kid in each elementary, etc. According to financial records that Tim Maddex provided, it costs a little over $9,000.00 to educate a student in Clarence while it took a little over $6,000.00 to educate a student in Shelbina. Stated in several newspaper articles in the Clarence Courier from the 60s and the 70s, both the Clarence School District and the Shelbina School District, agreed to consolidate and establish the Shelby County R-lV School District in an effort to offer more opportunities to county students. In a similar tone, individuals felt the need to finally consolidate the two elementary buildings to offer all students district wide the same opportunities and to spend tax-payer money from taxpayers, wisely. During the interview, we didn’t spend much time talking about the recently approved consolidation of the elementary buildings. One individual stated, “Consolidation and Redistricting are two very different things. Consolidation is not the issue at hand, school redistricting is. Let’s focus on that.” Chrissy Barry a Clarence resident stated, “I voted against the consolidation of both elementary buildings, however, I am very loyal to my school district. This idea that since 84% of Clarence voted against consolidation, doesn’t mean that the same 84% will vote for redistricting. Again, I personally voted against consolidation, but I’ll also be voting against redistricting.” They are two vastly different issues.” Jill Douglass stated, “We are already one district. Neither Shelbina nor Clarence will get to keep their elementary. Kids throughout the entire district can now have the same opportunities, get to know and grow with their classmates from Kindergarten all the way to graduation.” Currently, students in the Clarence and Shelbina Elementary are joined together as one class in the 6th Grade at the district wide middle school. This led us to our next question. When asked if you can tell the difference between a Clarence Kid and Shelbina Kid, 100% of everyone there said, “No, no you cannot. Teachers throughout the entire district have stated that they can’t tell which kid is from Clarence and which kid is from Shelbina.” Paula Gough and Nicole Roth emphasized on their generation being the generation that moves forward; “We don’t understand why over and over again, something that happened 50 years ago where most of us were kids and some of us weren’t even alive, is constantly being brought up. We are the generation that moves forward. We are the generation that is seeking to unite this county and this school district. The Shelby County R-lV School District is more than just what sits in the city limits of Clarence and Shelbina. We can’t change the past, but the future lies in our hands. Look around the room. Almost half of the individuals in here are from Clarence and the other half from Shelbina. We are tired of this division. Us coming together shows you it’s happening. We’ve made life-long friends in this mess. The people that keep talking about and bringing up this alleged division, are divisive themselves.” Another person chimed in and stated, “Shelbina does more business with Clarence than Macon does. We are all neighbors.”

Briefly, when asked about the possibility of Macon paying for the tuition of students who choose to stay at South Shelby if redistricting passes, members stated that it is a generous offer however, there are still parents that have kids who won’t get to make a one-time choice due to their age. “How is that fair,” stated one individual. Since the interview, the Macon School Board passed a resolution stating that they intend on offering students 7-12th grade coming from South Shelby to make a one-time choice to stay at South Shelby if redistricting is passed by voters. The current tuition rate of South Shelby is $7,800 per student.

Toward the end, the committee focused on the uncertainty of redistricting and the risk it brings to both districts. They stated that one thing is somewhat certain, Macon will gain while South Shelby will lose. Stating some financial impacts, “Shelby County R-lV could stand to lose almost two million dollars in revenue per year. Facing possible job cuts, budget cuts, and program cuts to accommodate for the drastic decrease in revenue.” Both committees have recognized that if redistricting is passed by voters, 20+ certified staff at South Shelby could lose their job. Cardinal Kids United also talked about how Macon could be forced to temporarily increase taxes in their district to accommodate for any payment they may have to make to the Shelby County R-lV school district if redistricting passes and Macon doesn’t have enough funds to pay once the debt and assets are apportioned. They referred to one of the only cases that has precedent in this issue. Members referred to a memorandum that their school attorney had made; “The court has held that the board of arbitrators can require a receiving school district to issue a tax levy in order to satisfy the award of the board. In State ex rel. Hermitage R-lV Sch. District. Vs. Hickory City, R-1 Sch. Dist., the Board of Arbitration’s award ordered Hickory County R-1 School District to pay Hermitage School District $52,393.49.” Further in the memorandum, the school attorney stated, “The court declared that if could order the Hickory board to secure a levy increase within constitutional limits. Id. at 670. The court held that if, in further proceedings, Hickory could show that it did not hold available funds sufficient to pay the award to Hermitage, then Hickory may be ordered to take all lawful actions to obtain such funds over such period of time as the court may direct and if necessary secure the extension of a sufficient levy within the constitutional limits to provide funds for the payment of the award. Id. at 671.” South Shelby reached out to another lawyer for an opinion and the Kansas City Lawyer backed the opinion of the current Shelby County R-lV School Lawyer, citing he followed proper case law. Cele Gilbert stated, “this whole ordeal is a mess. There is so much uncertainty with it. There is a lot that we won’t know until after voters cast their ballots.” Paula Gough stated, “there is a certain path voters can take and that is to VOTE NO on August 7th. If voters strike down Proposition 1, everything will return to normal like it has been for decades. Parents and kids will not have to move their homes. There won’t be friction in classrooms. Kids won’t have to worry about the social shock of being in a classroom where they don’t know anyone. There won’t be any risk of financial burden on either district.”

Paula Gough closed the interview with focusing on the three groups of kids that will be drastically impacted by redistricting if passed by voters. “First and foremost, the Clarence kids that will have to move districts. They will be moving to a bigger district with different expectations, rules, and overall, a different atmosphere. Secondly, the kids at South Shelby that don’t get redistricted. Now those kids will have to face and attend a school where programs are being cut, teachers could lose their jobs, and some of their friends are no longer sitting in the classrooms that they are. Finally, the Macon kids. They will be impacted too. Statistics show that kids can be negatively impacted by new classmates in the classroom. It puts everyone out of rhythm. Teachers may have to catch students up, Macon R-1 kids could stand to lose their class rank, more competition for positions in organizations and athletic teams, etc. Again, this doesn’t have to be this way if everyone keeps everything like it has been and Votes No on August 7th.”

Cardinal Kids United under request, would like for their neighbors in Macon to think about one thing while going into the ballot box on August 7th; “If the positions were switched or Macon was facing a similar issue of school redistricting, how would you feel? How would you feel if you were in our shoes? Would you be in favor of school redistricting then or would you be fighting like we are to keep our beloved district intact?” If anyone has questions, please visit the Cardinal Kids United Facebook Page or contact either district.

Proposition 1 (School Boundary Change) is set to be voted on in the August Election (August 7th). Eligible voters living in the Macon R-1 or Shelby County R-lV School District will be allowed to vote.

Picture is of Clarence Patrons and Parents who are against Prop. 1.