The Macon R-1 Board of Education voted 7-0 Wednesday night to keep checking the residency of people who file Sunshine Law requests, and to verify it the same way the district does when a family enrolls a student.
Macon Chronicle Publisher Patrick Nolan said, "It is unfortunate that the Macon R-1 School Board voted to continue violating the Sunshine Law after having been put on notice that residency is not a permissible factor in regards to fees. The Board's policy of charging different fees based on residency also violates the Missouri Constitution's equal protection clause."
Superintendent Bryan Thomsen put the item on the agenda. He said the board updated its Sunshine request policy earlier this year and had run with it for a couple of months. "One question that has come up is our checking of residency," he said. He said the district "had one situation where it came from email," and asked the board for direction.
A board member asked whether the district could ask for proof of residency the same way it does for enrollment. Thomsen said that was "probably the easiest way."
Another board member asked what the district was being asked for. Thomsen said most recent requests were for historical information, along with "specific questions" about the tax anticipation note. He said records are pulled together, redacted, and sent out, and that the work goes through the district's attorney.
Thomsen said the legal cost is "an increased cost," though he would not call it significant, and that the district is working to show the board what the redaction work costs. He said those fees come out of the board's legal fee budget and are "fees we cannot relay on to the folks who are requesting it."
The motion was to "use the same process for student residency for enrollment to establish residency for Sunshine requests." It passed 7-0. Board members did not discuss whether residency can lawfully affect fees.
The Macon Chronicle filed a Sunshine request Oct. 5 for records on the district's Incidental Fund Tax Anticipation Note, Series 2026, including the principal, interest rate, repayment dates, buyer, and closing documents, and for the contract, scope of work, and any report from the third-party financial evaluation the board cited in its Oct. 2 letter to the community. The request followed the board's announcement of a $3.3 million dollar tax-anticipation loan.
Selinda Thomsen, the district's records clerk, responded to the request by requesting the Chronicle staff's home address to determine the fees.
Nolan responded to the email request by pointing out that the request violated the Sunshine Law and the Missouri Constitution. He also advised the board to reconsider the policy due to the likelihood of being sued and amended the Chronicle's request to include a complete copy of the board's policy manual.
Nolan told the Chronicle staff reporter that he had not planned on discussing it until the matter was resolved or a suit was filed, but given the Board's vote, it appears court action may be unavoidable.
"Just because I am not personally blessed to live in Macon County, despite my business holdings in the county, doesn't mean I should be penalized or my businesses treated unequally with every other citizen of Missouri," he said.
Budget now $190,000 in the red
Thomsen told the board the revised budget now shows a deficit of about $190,000, after starting the year close to balanced. He called it a preliminary number.
He pointed to the state's student adequacy target and to transportation aid. The district learned in its October state memo that transportation reimbursement is prorated at 86%, so the district gets 86% of the 75% it is allowed, he said.
A district financial report in the meeting packet shows $578,297 across all funds at the end of September, $1,292,805 less than a year earlier. The Chronicle reported Oct. 2 that the district is borrowing $3.3 million through a tax anticipation note to cover operations and payroll through December.
Cost cuts start now
The administrative team gave the board a list of 13 cost-saving ideas, including eliminating the HallPass system, trimming supply budgets, reviewing software, cutting utility costs, and charging for facility rentals. Thomsen said none of them are drastic and the district should start on the ones it can, beginning with non-essential purchasing.
"About 70% of our budget is due to staffing," he said, which makes big savings in the current year hard.
One board member said the only idea on the list that member disagreed with was charging youth sports to use district facilities. Thomsen said that would take board action.
Preschool fees on the table
The preschool lost its grant. Thomsen said the district expects about $94,640 in state attendance money for the program this year against $155,334 in staffing costs, leaving it $60,694 short.
Fourteen students qualify for free or reduced lunch and bring in state aid. Spreading the gap evenly would cost about $168 a month per student. Charging only the students who bring in no state aid would cost $259.33 a month, over nine months.
Thomsen said he was not recommending a fee for this year. A board member said the district has to charge now and called the amount "incredibly reasonable." Thomsen said he will bring formal fee options, and examples from other preschools, to the next meeting, possibly to start after the first of the year.
Other business
The board voted 7-0 on each of these:
- The consent agenda, including bills, payroll, Oct. 14 work session minutes, vision services, and the special education compliance plan for 2026-27.
- A two-year middle school yearbook deal with Walsworth, which already prints the book. The principal said the estimated cost stays at $11 a book.
- The 2026-27 bus routes.
- Second and final reading of MSBA policy updates, mostly on evaluations of the superintendent, administrators, and staff.
The activities director proposed raising gate admission from $4 to $5, keeping students at $3, and letting seniors and veterans in free. Current prices are $3 for students and $2 for seniors. A board member asked to put the change on a future agenda. Scoreboard sponsorships total about $71,000 this year, he said.
The board president said EGL is still taking applications in the superintendent search and will send a staff and community survey in November. The firm's financial review should reach the board in mid to late November.
The board went into closed session at 7:10 p.m. to discuss legal matters, personnel, student records, and personnel records. No action was announced.
The board next meets Nov. 18.