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There are so many great things happening at MRH it’s hard to keep up with it all! Below are some brief descriptions of our districts projects, plans and accomplishments. Just click the link to the topic you’d like to read.
If you are looking for additional information that you cannot find below, please let us know. We’ll be glad to find you an answer and post the topic here for others as well. Click the links below to go directly to that subject.
Budget Cuts Over the Past Two Years
How Do My Taxes Help the School District?
Reggio Emelia Early Childhood Program and Italy Trip
The MRH School District has made significant Budget Cuts over the past two years. In the past two years, the District has cut $1.4 million for the operating budget with cuts to Professional Development, school clubs at MRH Elementary, cutting the MRH Elementary 6th grade camp, staffing cuts, the elimination of the middle school athletic program.
The Board of Education is planning on cutting an addition $480,000 from the budget over the next two years, even with the passage of Props Y & S.
How do my taxes help the school district?
MRH receives 87.4% of revenues from local taxes. This is how our district is funded per the state of Missouri formula.
80% of MRH’s tax revenues go to salaries and benefits.
Currently, MRH has the 7th from the bottom operating tax rate, at $3.31 per hundred dollars assessed evaluation.
In 2001, MRH’s tax rate was $4.18. The MRH School District has continued to roll back that rate to the current rate of $3.31. With the passage of Props Y&S, the rate will be $3.98, which is TWENTY cents lower than 2001.
For a home with an appraisal value of $150,000, the passage of Props Y&S will increase their taxes by $216.60 per year.
The MRH Test Scores are going up! Up! UP! Since 2001….
Source: DESE
We are a college prep school with high quality teachers
Our Accomplishment are many!
FAQ’s
What is the ECC Chicken project and how do we pay for this program? The introduction of chickens is the next natural step in reaching the District’s goal of preparing our students to be stewards of the earth.
Costs Purchasing the chickens cost the district $32. Funding for their coop is covered through the Missouri Foundation for Health grant, which also supports the schools’ Seed to Table program. Care for the chickens is minimal and is provided by Early Childhood Center students, with support from High School students serving as chicken stewards. Faculty and staff will oversee their care. (No additional staff was hired to support this program.)
Educational Benefits Along with the garden program and many other components to the Early Childhood Center’s curriculum, the chickens are the next natural step in reaching the goal of preparing students to be stewards of the earth. They will help reconnect young people with their environment, food, and animals. They will be used in learning new language. Through interactions and caring for the chickens, children will learn responsibility, self reliance, teamwork, and compassion for living things. They will learn about good nutrition, and even learn a bit about cooking eggs. High School students assisting with the program will also learn from the experience, helping fulfill stewardship credits.
For additional information about the chickens at MRH ECC please go to: http://www.mrhsd.org/pdfs/News/Chicken_reference_guide.pdf
How do we pay for our ELEM 6th grade capstone experience? In 2008, the MRH School District cut the cost of what was then called the 6th grade camp from the district budget. The new and improved 6th grade “Capstone Experience” now takes our 6th grade students on a journey to visit the Museums in Chicago, Illinois with all of the costs being covered by student and parent fundraising efforts.
Reggio Emelia Early Childhood Program and a Trip to Italy
Reggio Emelia is the name of the early childhood teaching approach that was developed in post-war Italy. A commitment was made by the entire community that all children would have access to the best early childhood education possible. This program has been extremely successful and is recognized all over the world as a successful and progressive approach to education.
The MRH Early Childhood Center (ECC) has been designated as the only educational training center outside of Italy for the Reggio Emelia approach. MRH won this designation over numerous area schools that were vying for this honor/recognition. The development of this program came primarily through non-district funds from Webster University and the Missouri Pre-School Grant.
As the only designated training center for Reggio Emelia, the ECC staff is required to be thoroughly and expertly trained. This has required a select few to attend specialized training in Italy. But TAX DOLLARS DID NOT PAY FOR THIS TRIP. Funds were received from Webster University for part of the cost. The remaining funds needed for the trip were raised by MRH staff for hosting a Reggio Inspired Practices conference. These are professional development conferences MRH hosts with Webster University to train area teachers. OTHER DISTRICTS PAY MRH TO TEACH THEIR TEACHERS. MRH then uses the monies raised to further train more of the staff to be better Reggio teachers themselves.
This approach to securing funding is just one example of the “out-of-the-box” thinking the MRH Administration and School Board have had to do in order to fill funding gaps and save initiatives.
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Vote YES on Y & S.
