VIENNA — Maries R-1’s district enrollment is down from last year, according to Superintendent Teresa Messersmith’s administrative report to the Board of Education during its Sept. 24 meeting.

At the time of the meeting, the district’s overall enrollment was 417 students, which was a notable decrease from the 431 students enrolled in the district according to the report from the May meeting. The total includes 189 students in the elementary school, 89 students in the middle school and 139 students in the high school. The attendance rate for the first month of the 2024-25 school year was 94.35 percent.

Messersmith said the sizes of last year’s graduating class and this year’s kindergarten class contribute to the difference, along with transfers in and out of the district over the summer. Last year’s graduating class of 48 students was about twice the size of the incoming kindergarten class.

Although a decline in enrollment could impact the district’s state funding in the future, the decreased enrollment would need to become a trend for that to happen. For state funding purposes, the district may count its highest enrollment over the past three years. Messersmith said the district’s highest enrollment of the last three years was three years ago, so the board would want to consider the upcoming decrease in funding when it looks at budgeting for next year.

The State Adequacy Target, which the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education uses to calculate how much money it takes to adequately educate a student in a Missouri school, raised its rate from $6,375 last year to $6,760 this year. Schools receive that amount of money from the state for every 1,044 hours of student attendance. The 1,044-hour value works out to about one school year’s worth of attendance per student.

The district received the new activity trip bus that the board approved during a special meeting earlier in September. The 2021 model 70-passenger bus cost $52,000 and had traveled about 80,000 miles.

The school is still looking for another bus after selling buses 14 and 15. Other recent income included a check for $2,600 from the auction website Purple Wave for selling the two buses. Messersmith said that she also expected the board to approve a few more activity trip drivers in the coming months because some of the staff had been working on their CDL with passenger endorsement.

No applicants had applied to take over another bus route with the district. The job listing remains posted. Messersmith said she plans to attend a transportation conference later this month to possibly get some new ideas for overseeing transportation in the district.

Formula Classroom Trust Fund money totaled $143,408.48 for the month. Proposition C funds totaled $54,232.78l. The district received $20,861 in Transportation money. The district received $5,508.16 in Food and Nutrition revenue. The district also received $7,084.66 in delinquent taxes.

The district spent $8,256.10 on electricity for the month. The propane reading had remained steady, so the district had not yet bought more propane. Messersmith said boiler upgrades were likely helping the district’s propane usage.

The only unexpected expense Messersmith mentioned for the month was new water softener for the cafeteria. Andy Wilbers Plumbing LLC will provide the new water softener for $3,200, which will be included with the bills at the Oct. 22 meeting.

Messersmith also provided the board with updates about the projects funded by the bond passed in April. The handicap-accessible sidewalk leading into the high school gym is completed. Seeds have been planted for grass to grow.

Solomon Boiler Works completed the installation of a new boiler in the cafeteria. Messersmith said the room is looking nice after getting the smaller and cleaner model and new wrapping around the pipes.

The first quarter of the 2024-25 school year ends Oct. 11. Parent-teacher conferences will be on Thursday, Oct. 24 from 1:30 to 7 p.m. Classes will dismiss early that day and there will be no school on Oct. 25.