Mrs. Martha Schreiman and members of her FFA officer team were present at the March 10, 2026 school board meeting to provide a meal, show gratitude and share highlights of their year. Following the meal, district administration shared their appreciation as well during the opening of the formal meeting. Present school board members for the Santa Fe R-X school district are: Russell Limback- President, Jennifer Hostetter- Vice President, Darren Wodrich-Secretary, Justin Schuster- Treasurer, Darrin Lilleman- Member, Tim Dierking- Member and Clay Michael- Member. “This district has been blessed with exemplary board operations and genuinely great people during my entire tenure, and prior to that and the Santa Fe school community is in debt for your selfless service to the kids, school and greater community,” shared Mr. Lark.

In his report, Mr. Lark focused on an upcoming event designed to provide information to area residents regarding Missouri legislation and the affects on public education and other vital services to rural communities. “Simply put, public education in Missouri is at a crossroads; specifically, in rural communities,” Mr. Lark said. “The public policies being pushed by our leadership in the state capitol will lead to the further consolidation of rural public schools and the shift from local public schools supported by rural communities to large, county-wide style school districts and a monumental increase in privatized education, with a focus on extracurricular’s and a ‘competition model’ amongst school districts. These models are not equal nor fair for all children, are inefficient for districts as they have to shift expenditures from academic lines to extra-curricular and advertising for recruiting students, create ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ amongst area schools, and erode the sense of community between our rural schools and the students and families they serve. Not to mention, states that have implemented these educational policies are broke and have a vast majority of declining academic performance- just google “Arizona k-12 education ranking”- they’re the model state for the policies being pushed through Jefferson City.” Mr. Lark shared that the event will be held at Santa Fe High School on March 24th, beginning at 5:30. Educational attorney Duane Martin will be the keynote speaker, followed by a panel Q & A discussion with area superintendents and legislators/ county leadership.

In building reports, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Brown thanked/recognized the following: Mrs. Smith Thanks to our PTO and volunteer parents for helping with the Valentine’s Day parties.

Thank you to everyone who supported our Book Blast. Every student PK-6 received a minimum of 2 new books.

Thank you to Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Nevels and the SFHS GRIT kids for sharing the importance of tenacity.

We’ve celebrated Reading Across America this week.

BINGO Reading Night was a huge success.

Mrs. Brown Lisa Shemwell for Walmart Grocery donation.

Mrs. Leabo and cheerleaders for hosting courtwarming breakfast.

Mrs. Schreiman and FFA for hosting community appreciation breakfast Thank you to the freshman parents and sponsors for hosting a successful freshman dinner at courtwarming.

Thank you to everyone that bought a the Music Department’s Pie Auction Fundraiser.

Thank you to State Bank for $700 check from the card program.

In action items, the Special Education program was reviewed. Mr. Lark shared that the program, under the direction of Mrs. Alicia Smith, was running smoothly and that the district is lucky to have such a great special education staff. Mrs. Smith reported that participation numbers in the program has increased in recent years and that there is a need for additional staff to keep up with the increased participation.

The meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m.