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At the May Board of Education meeting, several important Finance and Human Resources items were approved as we continue planning ahead for the 2026-2027 school year.

Salary Schedule Approvals
The Board approved the remaining 2026-2027 salary schedules for staff across the district, including classified, clerical, student services, administrative support, and specialized positions. The district continues to prioritize remaining competitive in the regional labor market while supporting recruitment and retention efforts for high-quality employees across all departments.

In addition, the Board approved increases to extracurricular stipends and salary adjustments for employees not currently placed on a schedule. The total projected investment in salary and benefit adjustments for next year is approximately $1.15 million.

Substitute Pay Increase
To continue strengthening our substitute pool and remain competitive with surrounding districts, the daily substitute teacher rate was approved to increase to $115 per day, with long-term substitute pay increasing to $135 per day after the tenth consecutive day.

Health & Dental Fund Update
The Board also reviewed the monthly Health and Dental Fund report. As of April 30, 2026, the district has utilized approximately 91.3% of the annual health and dental budget. The Health Plan ended April with a balance of approximately $517,580, supported in part by over $336,000 in pharmacy rebates received during the month. The Dental Plan balance remains stable at approximately $214,972, though the fund is expected to gradually decline over time due to increased costs associated with the district’s fully insured dental coverage.

Financial Statement Overview
The Board reviewed the April 2026 financial statements, which continue to reflect strong cash reserves and stable operations. Total district fund balances across all funds were approximately $123.1 million as of April 30, 2026. The district continues to benefit from strong investment performance through UMB, MOSIP, and MOCAAT accounts, with investment rates ranging from approximately 3.30% to 4.25%. Year-to-date revenues are tracking at approximately 87.3% of budget, while expenditures remain at approximately 65.3% of budget through ten months of the fiscal year.

Looking Ahead
The Board also approved annual transfer authority that provides flexibility for current and future capital improvement needs, helping the district continue investing in facilities, equipment, safety, and long-term infrastructure planning.

Health & Dental Fund: Our balance is currently sitting around $500K. We are still watching it closely and are on track to end the plan year in the positive. We are also working with the HPAC to bring recommendations in the next couple months on premiums for next year.

Financials: Work is currently in process to create next year’s budget as we consider revenue stream challenges in light of legislative changes.

Salary Schedules: The board approved the teachers, Bus Driver/Bus Aide, Food Service, Skill Craft, and Custodian salary schedules. Official copies will be posted on the web soon. The remainder of our salary schedules will be taken to the board in May. We had a great year of collective bargaining and we are proud of our teams for the collaborative work to bring forward these schedules! Much work has been done to ensure Joplin Schools is a competitive employer in our region!

In addition to the normal finance office reports presented at the March Board of Education meeting, the second budget adjustment for the year was also presented. The majority of the budget adjustment was to account for the Phase 2 dollars the board committed a few months ago. As a reminder, the budget is a fluid document, and we make regularly scheduled adjustments as we get new information throughout the school year. Minimally, there will be one more adjustment to this budget in June.

At a recent Joplin Connect meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Finance Dr. Jordan Henegar was asked to share the link to DESE's recordings and information related to the Missouri Formula Modernization Taskforce. This Taskforce was appointed by the governor to work to rewrite the state formula (the machine and methodology that determines how much state aid we get from the state of Missouri.) Here is the link to the main page; drop downs point to work groups meetings, as well as complete task-force meetings.

Health & Dental
January ended much stronger than December, and our balance grew to a little over $500,000. Revenues and expenditures are tracking closely with recent projections, and we anticipate ending February on target as well. Thank you to our HPAC members, who meet quarterly to review the status of our Health Fund, and to our District Wellness Committee, who continue investing in staff well-being. Their work will have a positive long-term impact on the district’s health fund.

Financials
We are on track budget-wise and remain on a steady path compared to last year. Spring budget adjustments will be presented to the Board in March. The district budget is intended to be a living document, updated throughout the year in response to district needs and revised revenue projections. At a minimum, we bring budget adjustments to the Board three times during the school year. March’s adjustment will be the second of the year.

Health/Dental

December was a challenging month for the health fund so we ended with a low balance, but January is looking more positive and we are optimistic looking forward. We received a big stop loss reimbursement as well as our 4th quarter pharm rebates, but unfortunately those did not come in time to be on the December financials. Look forward to a better outcome in the February report!

Financial Report
As we discussed last month, we are in the months where we have our greatest balances with our local tax dollars rolling in. The district relies on local tax revenues for more than half of our annual revenues during the year. 

Accounts Payable
Our Phase One Elementary upgrades are well underway and we heard some great updates from Crossland at the January Board of Education meeting. As we move through the improvements, we naturally see the bills come in so we are starting to expend our Capital Reserves set aside for this project.

At the December Board of Education meeting, the Finance Office shared several routine reports that reflect how district funds are being managed and monitored as we move through the school year. Here are the key takeaways:

As of November 30, 2025, the district has received about 24% of its annual revenues and spent about 30% of its annual budget, which is typical for this point in the fiscal year. Funds are spread across categories like classroom operations, capital projects, and debt service, each with specific legal uses.

District cash balances and investments total just under $99 million, with funds invested safely in Missouri-approved programs that earn interest while remaining available for district needs. In December & January we receive most of our tax revenue from Jasper & Newton Counties. This money makes up over 50% of our annual TOTAL revenue so we see our balances climb through the winter. Try to visualize that the money needed to fund the school district for an entire school year (around $120 million), we see over half of it come to us over the course of two to three months. This results in high bank balances which we will spend down until next tax season. We deposit and invest funds to ensure they mature and are available throughout the school year for cash flow needs and we reap the benefit of interest earnings from the investment plans.

Health & dental plans are tracking as expected. About 49% of the annual health and dental budget has been spent after five months. The health plan has an ending balance equal to just under one month of average claims, while the dental plan continues to draw down reserves. We continue to closely monitor our health fund and have been pleased that the balance has slightly increased the last two months. I monitor the health fund weekly and one of my priorities is having a complete understanding of the intricacies affecting balances & the overall health of the fund. We encourage staff to stay engaged and follow updates provided monthly regarding the health plan.

Accounts payable reflects normal district operations. The Board approved payment of $9.86 million in bills, with roughly 74% related to salaries and benefits, and the remainder supporting instructional materials, utilities, maintenance, transportation, and capital needs across the district.

The 2024-2025 Audit report was approved. The district received a clean audit and the audit documents are evidence of the strong financial position Joplin Schools was in upon the retirement of our former CFO, Shelly Toft.

These reports are part of our regular commitment to transparency, clarity, and fiscal responsibility. If you’re ever curious about how district dollars are tracked or spent, the Finance Office is always happy to help explain the details.

Financial statements for the period ending October 31, 2025 at the November board meeting. Nothing out of the ordinary showed up this month, but we want to note that the additional $10 million commitment for Phase 2 of our district facilities projects on our balance sheets.

Capital Projects Fund (Fund 4) Reminders

Money in Fund 4 can only be used for capital improvements: buildings, facilities, and long-term upgrades. Only specific types of revenue may go into this fund, and all dollars are restricted for district improvements. A quick snapshot:

• We began this school year with $31.2 million in Fund 4.
• $11 million is earmarked for Phase 1 Elementary Upgrades.
• $10 million is earmarked for Phase 2 District Upgrades.
• We also budget several million annually for recurring maintenance and facility upkeep.

These dollars reflect intentional planning during the years we received extra federal COVID relief revenue.

Health & Dental Update
As many of you know, our Health Fund has been running low. October brought a bit of good news: we received our third-quarter prescription rebate, and for the first time in a while, the Health Fund ended the month net positive. That said, we are not out of the woods. We continue to monitor the fund daily and are prepared to provide a cash infusion if needed to protect benefits. Since we are self-funded, every claim affects the shared Health Fund balance.

Please keep an eye out for updates from the Health & Wellness Committee about ways to access high-quality care while helping stretch our collective dollars.

Audit Update
We complete an annual audit every year, but this cycle has brought an unusual twist. The federal government shutdown has delayed a required part of our Federal Audit. Our auditors cannot finalize the audit or issue the official report until we receive that missing federal supplement. They presented a draft to the board last night, and once the federal piece arrives, we will wrap up FY2025 and present the final audit for approval. This delay is affecting districts nationwide, not just Joplin. We’re staying proactive to keep things moving as quickly as possible.

Here are the finance highlights from the October Board of Education meeting.

We are currently experiencing the benefits of the State Adequacy Target being increased to $7,145 this school year. DESE is paying out the formula at a higher rate than they were at this point last year so we will watch closely to see if the payments remain this optimistic. We are in a pivotal time in Missouri School Finance as the current Funding Formula is being re-written. If this work interests you, head over to DESE's Formula Taskforce website and watch some of the recorded meetings.

As discussed last month, the Health fund is critically low. We are constantly monitoring the situation and preparing to take action, should the need arise. The balance for the health fund is currently a little over $400K, which is not enough to cover even one month of premiums, however we are injecting employee and district contributions each pay period. The Health Plan Action Committee meets quarterly, and will hold their next meeting on Oct. 29. An initial budget adjustment was presented at the Oct. 28 Board meeting. When the original budget was created, things were still in limbo with the Federal grants we receive each year and we have since been awarded those amounts, so we were able to budget for those. We are also budgeting for increased state formula payments this year as well as a small increase in tax revenue since it is a re-assessment year.

For more information, check out the finance presentations to the board in Simbli.

Here are the finance highlights from the September Board of Education meeting.

Financial Overview:
As we move through the Fall, we enter the part of the year where our revenues are some of the lowest. This is typical and normal for school districts to see negative net positions until property taxes begin rolling in in December.

You may look at our current financial standing and think, “Wow, the district has a lot of money.” Right now, our balances do look strong. During the pandemic, the district received over $30 million in federal COVID relief funds. Under the leadership of Dr. Ron Lankford and Shelly Toft, we were careful not to use these dollars for ongoing expenses—things we would have to pay for every year once the relief funding ended. Instead, we invested wisely, strengthened our financial position, and built up our reserves. In FY2025 (last school year), we received our final $6 million payment. This year marks our first budget with no additional COVID relief funds. While we do plan to spend down some of our balances, we must avoid taking on new, recurring costs that cannot be sustained without that one-time federal support.

It's important to know that we maintain dollars within four different Funds. Each of these funds have certain allowances for how we can spend them: General, Teacher, Debt Service, and Capital. We also call them Funds 1, 2, 3, & 4 respectively.

• Fund 1 can only be used for Non-Certified staff salaries and tangibles that are less than $5,000 per item
• Fund 2 can only be used for Certified teacher and administrator salaries and benefits
• Fund 3 can only be used for Debt Service
• Fund 4 can only be used for Capital Projects and Equipment

As we need money in Fund 2 to pay teacher salaries, we transfer those funds from Fund 1. Of the $29.5M we have in reserves for Capital Projects (Fund 4), almost half of it is committed to our Elementary Phase 1 updates as well as annual Capital Outlay expenses for the school year. We are so excited to watch these updates take place and for our buildings to transform.

You may know that we are self-funded for health insurance, which means the district directly pays employee medical claims instead of an outside insurance company. The Health Plan Advisory Council (HPAC) meets regularly to monitor the plan and make decisions about it.

We are concerned about the declining balance in our Health Fund. At the end of August 2024, the fund held about $2.4 million. Since then, several very high-cost claims have significantly reduced that amount. To address this, HPAC voted to increase premiums so more money flows into the fund. The district also raised its contribution from $440 per month to $520 per month. As we begin the new plan year on October 1, 2025, we are optimistic that these adjustments will help rebuild our reserves.

Accounts Payable Update:
Our expenditures for the month of Aug. 20-Sept. 16 include:

• $5,803,911 in Salaries/Benefits
• $2,727,381 in Capital Outlay
• $1,435,030 in Other Instruction/Support
• For a total of $9,976,322 in expenses

Compared to the same period in 2024 (which showed total expenses of $3,949,022), that year's billing cycle did not include a monthly payroll. 2025 also incurred much higher Health/Dental costs, with many Capital projects coming to completion and bills coming due.