School Board elections are less than a week away in many Missouri communities, including in Joplin, where Missouri Southern’s television station KGCS held a live candidate roundtable Monday. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.
According to the most recent state report on education funding in Missouri by former auditor Nicole Galloway published in June of 2021, the state ranks 49th in the US, providing 32% of the funding, with local communities picking up the remaining cost.
The average amount that states pay for education in the US is 45%. Five of the seven Joplin School Board candidates participated in the forum.
When asked whether the current funding level for Joplin’s School is adequate to meet the needs of students, four of the five candidates made a case for increased funding.
Jeff Koch, current Joplin School Board President, asserted current funding levels are enough.
“Two of the best years, my students, my kids had were at the doghouse warehouse middle school, which wasn’t anything other than teachers in a classroom and maybe a couple of posters on the wall. The education is what’s important; it’s not necessarily the buildings around it.”
Koch is running for his third, three-year term on the board. There are three openings this election on theJoplin Schools Board.
Polls will open next Tuesday from 6 am and close at 7 pm. For 89 9 KRPS News, I'm, Fred Fletcher-Fierro
