WESTPHALIA — Fatima R-3 board members agreed to pay half of the cost of improvements to the Westphalia Lions Club baseball and softball fields for a cost of $16,383 at their July 15 meeting.

Westphalia Lions Club representative Steve Massman met with Superintendent John Kitchens and explained that the batter’s box was three inches higher than the rest of the field and there is a ditch in the field.

“There are a lot of issues in both fields,” Kitchens explained. “We have a unique relationship with the Lions Club, which is a good thing to have.”

Kitchens said that the Lions Club did not ask the district to pay a certain amount of the repairs and that the repairs should be a 10- to 15-year fix.

“We don’t spend money on our own facilities,” board member Jeff Winkelman said. “I think we are getting a hell of a deal.”

Vice President Matt Robertson was in favor of the repairs but added that he believes that work should be done in the outfield as well.

“Without the Lions Club and the Knights of Columbus, we have nothing except a track,” said Board President Suzanne Massman. “We need to be able to support them.”

Lions Club members believed they should be able to have the repairs completed in time for the upcoming softball season.

In other business, the board voted to increase lunch and breakfast by $.45 for the upcoming school year.

Kitchens explained that his goal is for the school to be charging lunch prices of $3.25 within three years, which is more in line with what the district should be charging, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and neighboring school districts.

“I don’t want to make that jump in one year,” Kitchens said. “We know we need to make an increase, but it is whatever you think the community will tolerate.”

The new prices for the 2026-27 school year will be elementary breakfast ($1.90), lunch ($2.60), junior high and high school breakfast ($1.90), and lunch ($2.85), adult breakfast ($2.05), and lunch ($3.45).

Kitchens noted that the increased charge for meals will help to generate additional district revenue, but did not have the exact figures available.

• Board members approved a tuition increase for out-of-district students to coincide with inflation by $328.61, to $9,717.40.

“Things have constantly been going up,” Kitchens said. “Inflation is currently at 3.5%, and we can use that number to increase tuition.”

Currently, the district has no students paying tuition to attend.

• Central Dairy/Prairie Home was the only milk bidder, and the board approved the submission, with prices subject to market fluctuations. Prices for a half-pint of milk for the upcoming year are as follows: 1% white ($.4451), 1% chocolate ($.4928), whole white milk ($.4728), skim white milk ($.4302), and whole chocolate ($.5184).

Typically, the school district only provides students with 1% white and chocolate milk.

Massman wanted to make sure that the price the district was charging students if they purchased extra milk covered the new price.

• Board members approved the eligibility criteria for free and reduced-price meals for the upcoming school year as set forth by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

• The board approved an additional raise to equal an additional step for certified specialists who are paid by salary. This will be in addition to a $500 raise that was previously approved. Last month, board members approved the $500 raise and an increased step for certified teaching staff but did not include certified specialists in the motion. This will make the raise equal for certified teaching staff and certified specialists.

• Ann Koenigsfeld was hired as the assistant boys’ soccer coach.

• Kitchens updated the board on information he learned about the A-F Report Card system that will rate all of the public school districts in the upcoming year.

“Currently we have the Annual Performance Report (APR); the A-F report card takes the same concept and puts it into a more readable scale,” Kitchens explained. “Standardized test scores will probably make up 60% to 70% of the score.”

Kitchens said that new DESE guidelines would require that school districts complete all testing by April 30. Currently, testing is done at the end of April and completed in the first part of May.

“That doesn’t sound like much, but the teachers will have to accelerate instruction,” Kitchens explained. “They will have to be done teaching by April 1.”

Kitchens said that this year will be particularly challenging since the school year is starting one week later due to Labor Day.

“This is on top of the funding shortfalls,” Kitchens said. “That’s just another hurdle for teachers and students. DESE is trying to make sense of it for us, but it is going to be tough.”

Kitchens expects that Missouri public school test scores will see a decrease for everyone in the upcoming year due to decreased instructional time.

• The recent storm and electric outage required the school district to throw away hundreds of pounds of food, for which Fatima filed an insurance claim. The district also found some roof leaks that they were unaware of and will address.

• The first day back for the 2026-27 school year for teachers will be Aug. 19, and students will start the year on Aug. 25.

• Board members approved paying $302,957.05 in outstanding bills for the month.

• The annual tax levy hearing is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 19, followed by the regular board meeting at 6.