Buckskin Legacy
Working to Ensure the Buckskin Legacy
Continues for Future Generations
Is Joel E. Barber closing down?
No. Our goal is to provide information to the public that will help to create a long future of Buckskin pride for our families.
Has the school been spending foolishly and now the school is broke?
No. Our board and administration has been very conservative and responsible with your tax dollars. This is why we have zero debt, you pay some of the lowest school taxes around, we have a healthy reserve in our capitol projects fund, and our students STILL get a great Buckskin education.
Does JEB pay high-school tuition for 9th-12th grade students in our district?
Yes. We are legally required to pay tuition on every high school student who lives in our district when they attend a neighboring district. This accounts for approximately $1.7 Million of our budget.
The way a school receives money is limited and not completely within our control. There are very strict rules about how that money can be spent once we receive it.
Revenue Facts
Sources of School Revenue:
- State Dollars (our largest chunk)
- Federal Dollars from the state department of education
- Local funds from tax dollars
Our total budget is approximately $7.5 million. We receive $9,535 per student per year.
Expense Facts:
Expenses are divided into “pots” or funds.
Each fund determines how it can be spent.
Example: Fund 4 – Capitol improvements (building improvements or additions. Fund 1 – Unrestricted funds (salaries, high school tuition, supplies, utilities, etc)
Moving funds from one “pot” to another is difficult and sometimes not possible.
- Fund 4 balance is approximately $2.7 million. This can only be used for building improvements, additions, and upgrades.
- Fund 1 (salaries, high school tuition, supplies, utilities, etc.) typically has a balance of $4.3 Million that flows in and out throughout the year.
- High School tuition is rising in neighboring districts and is going to continue to rise at significant rates in the next 4 years to a rate that will be unsustainable for our district.
- We are left with only a few options:
- Cut spending – reducing teachers, increasing class sizes, and cutting opportunities for students.
- Wait a few years until we are out of money and close our doors for ALL students.
- Begin the plan to build a Buckskin High School.
The basics of what we are facing as a district
- Laclede Co. C-5 pays tuition for every high school student in our district to attend grades 9-12 in a neighboring district.
- Legally, 8th grade students can choose any high school in our county or a bordering county.
- Currently, neighboring districts have voted in Board of Education meetings to raise high school tuition.
| 26-27 | 27-28 | 28-29 | 30-31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lebanon R-III |
$10,203.00 |
$10,865.00 |
$11,509.00 |
$12,163.00 |
|
When the LHS building project is completed (projected 2028), they will add their debt service to tuition amounts. That project is estimated to be between $22 million and $30 million. |
||||
|
Laclede County R-1 (Conway) |
$10,170.78 |
TBD |
TBD |
TBD |
Historically, neighboring districts have kept their tuition close to the amount we receive from the state in funding for JEB high school students. In the Spring of 2026, our district engaged in more than six separate meetings about tuition rates with neighboring school districts that receive our high school students. This year, one of our neighboring districts decided that our tuition rate would be increased to $12,163.06 per student annually. Our Superintendent and Board President attended that district’s Board of Education meeting to advocate for a tuition rate that more closely matched the funding we receive which is $9,535 per student annually. After this discussion, the district decided to phase in the increase over the next four years, at which time their debt service for their new building will also be added to this amount. Their approved rate for the 2026-2027 school year will be $10,203 increasing each year until reaching the $12,163.06 rate in four years. When the final tuition rate is reached, the amount of tuition we pay annually will exceed our funding for those students by a projected amount of more than $600,000 annually before the cost of their debt service is added. We do not know the debt service amount they will add to that, but it is projected to be anywhere from $150,000-$350,000 annually. Our administration and board of education recognize that while we have been good stewards of our finances and even have a large reserve of funds, this rate of tuition will not be sustainable for our district for more than a couple of years.
What do we do now? We are currently looking at all possible options for how to overcome this challenge and continue providing a quality Buckskin education to our students. You have already received information via social media and our district website, and at recent community meetings. We appreciate your engagement in all platforms as we continue to share information about this process. Our administration and Board of Education are committed to transparency throughout this process. Our administration and Board of Education have explored a number of options including transportation to other neighboring high schools, consolidation into a neighboring district or building our own high school. The most feasible option to present to voters to ensure the future of Joel E. Barber is the construction of a high school facility. We know there are many challenges to building a high school, but we also know it is something for which our community has expressed a desire for many decades. This option has previously been looked at as unattainable due to financial constraints, but new information has shown us additional options that make this a real possibility for our district.
While rumors of impending closure have circulated, we are all Buckskins and we refuse to give up. We are committed to exploring every option that keeps the Buckskin legacy alive for many generations to come. There will be questions about this process and in an effort to provide current, transparent information we have established this dashboard page on our website with FAQs, videos and more in-depth details. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, email BuckskinLegacy@jebk8.com.
The Four Options for Our District
Business as Usual Option
With this option, we would keep doing what we are currently doing. Using current information, this option buys us only a few years before we would eventually use up our reserves and close our doors. In-house projections show 5 years.
Buckskin High School Option
With this option, we would explore building a Buckskin high school with current reserve funds and using the $8 million bonding capacity we have, requiring voters to approve a bond of approximately a 30¢ – 60¢ increase on the property tax rate. This would take our tax rate from $3.18 to a range of $3.48 – $3.78. That 30¢ – 60¢ increase would be required to go into Fund 3 and would create debt service for our district, which we have historically not had. Debt service creates a revolving line of credit for our district in Fund 3 using local tax dollars. Initially, that 30¢ – 60¢ would build phase 1 for the high school. Over time, taxpayers would need to continue to approve the bond by voting for a no-tax increase to keep the line of credit available for future improvements and additional phases.
This option is essentially a promise between the district and the patrons. The patrons promise to contribute the funds for the improvements to the district. The district promises to utilize those funds only for capital improvements (Fund 3) to keep our facilities up-to-date for our students.
Increase Tax Levy Option
With this option, we would approach voters to increase our current tax levy from $3.18 to $5.68 to cover the additional $1 million in tuition expenditures. This would not cover future tuition increases, so the district would need to return to voters for additional increases as needed.
Consolidation / Annexation
Consolidation:
In this option, we would approach voters with the option to consolidate with a specific neighboring district. If our voters approve this move, we would then approach that district for approval. If approved by the neighboring district, a new district is formed. At this time, the State Commissioner of Education would draw names from the two existing boards to serve out the remaining time until the next election. At that time, the voters in the new district would vote to elect the new board. Upon approval, patrons would immediately be required to pay the tax rate of the new district.
Annexation:
If voters do not approve a consolidation, the district approaches voters in a November election to vote on annexation. At this time, the state would designate which neighboring district students would attend based on where they live. Patrons would then immediately be required to pay the tax rate of that district (Laclede Co. C-5: $3.18 current; LR-III: $4.46; LCR-1: $3.24; DCR-1: $3.79).
| Business as Usual Option | Tax Levy Increase Option | Consolidation / Annexation | Build a High School (Voter approved bond) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Keep Laclede Co. C-5 School District doors open long-term |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Ensure you have a voice in school related election topics |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Maintain a close-knit school setting with small school values |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Protect a decisive voice in how tax dollars are spent |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Preserve longevity in relationships for staff, students, and parents |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Sustain consistent educational goals with all students housed in one campus K-12 |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
High School Basics
Options for Keeping Students at Laclede Co. C-5 with a High School
Keep All Grades at Once
This option would require all current high school students to return to Laclede Co. C-5. This option is not feasible because current students have already created 4-year plans at their current high schools. Our administration does not feel this would be best for students. This would also create a situation in which we would need all spaces, staff, and resources immediately, which would be costly and unrealistic to achieve.
Phase in One Grade at a Time
Utilizing this option would allow high school students to remain in their current schools, keeping their 4-year high school plans, and would add one “graduating” 8th grade class at-a-time each year until all grades are at Laclede Co. C-5. This would allow our district to phase in space, staff, and resources gradually. This also allows us to keep partial tuition dollars in-house each year to pay for salaries and benefits for new high school staff.
What about electives, advanced courses, clubs, sports, and extra-curriculars?
Our district would utilize partnerships with neighboring tech centers and colleges, as well as, virtual options to create opportunities for students to engage in electives and advanced course work that our staff couldn’t offer. One example could be classes for multiple foreign languages vs. our staff only being able to offer one option. We would be able to expand current elective offerings to include courses for 9th-12th grade students, but would also utilize these other partnerships to expand opportunities for our high school students.
Adding a high school would allow us to request to join a conference for sports, which would open up opportunities for our scheduling. Our desire is to keep current sports offerings, but depending on participants, our sports offerings may change. If we added one grade level at a time, we would start with a freshmen team and then grow into Junior Varsity and Varsity teams as we keep more grades. We would fluctuate between a Class 1 and Class 3 based on our freshman, sophomore, and junior classes.