I'm 88 years old and on social security. Last year I gave 6 weeks of my benefits to Christian County for real estate taxes. Nixa Schools got 4-1/2 weeks as their share. I decided to take a look to see what I'm buying with my money. I don't mind telling you that I'm shocked.
As you know, we rejected the freeze on assessed property values at the April 7 election. Ignorance or apathy? Who knows. Most people think our schools are wonderful. They tout the statistics Click Here, but they fail to tell you that out of fifty states plus the District of Columbia, Missouri is 39. Being first in a bunch of losers doesn't make you an actual winner.
I'd love to include photos in this post, but they're copyrighted. I hope you'll take time to click on the links to see the whole story.
My brother recently found a box of yearbooks in his garage. Some were my cousin's. One from Reed Jr. High 1949-1950 and one from Central High 1953. Back then, 7th, 8th, and 9th graders went to Jr. High, with 10th, 11th, and 12th in high school.
Someone had told me that we had a LOT of coaches for Nixa Jr. High and Nixa High School. I decided to make a comparison. Since some coaches overlap between the two schools, I decided to add them together and likewise with Reed and Central.
Here's what I found:
Reed and Central: Students: 2,647 - Coaches 9 (who also teach)
1 coach for every 294 students
Nixa Jr. High and High: 2,949 - Coaches 97 Here's the Roster
1 coach for every 30 students
Almost 10 times as many coaches now as in the past. Why?
Reed Jr. offered:
Boys Basketball
Boys and Girls Skating
Girls Pep Squad
Central High offered:
Football
Boys Basketball
Cross Country
Track
Boys Baseball
Golf
Tennis
Nixa Jr. for Boys:
Football
Cross Country
Wrestling
Basketball
Track
Bass Fishing
Cheerleading
Nixa Jr. for Girls:
Volleyball
Cross Country
Wrestling
Basketball
Track
Softball
Cheerleading
Nixa High for Boys:
Cross Country
Football
Soccer
Swim
Basketball
Wrestling
Bowling
Baseball
Golf
Tennis
Track
Volleyball
Bass Fishing
Cheerleading
Nixa High for Girls:
Cross Country
Golf
Softball
Tennis
Volleyball
Basketball
Swimming
Wrestling
Bowling
Soccer
Track
Flag Football
Bass Fishing
Cheerleading
Reed Jr. High 3
Central High 7
Nixa Jr. High 14
Nixa High 28
Central High played basketball in the gymnasium where physical education classes were held. Football and track were played on the Drury College (now University) field which was a few blocks away.
According to the Nixa Schools Website, here are Nixa's facilities.
Nixa Athletic Facilities
Nixa High School Main Gym
Nixa High School Auxiliary Gym
Nixa High School Eagle Stadium
Nixa High School Wrestling Gym
Nixa High School Weight Room
Nixa High School Tennis Courts
Cross Country Track at Inman Intermediate
Nixa Baseball Field
Nixa Softball Field
Nixa Junior High Main Gym
Nixa Junior High Auxiliary Gym
Nixa Junior High Pyle Stadium
Here's the link - you can click on each one: Click Here. Some highlights:
Weight Room Click Here Tennis Courts Click Here Eagle Stadium Click Here
But that doesn't include the new 105,000 sq. ft. Apex Center at the High School: An indoor practice field with astro turf. You can see it on YouTube: Click Here.
Did you get that? The FIRST facility like this in Missouri. Cost: $18 million.
The school district recently purchased the Snyder Industrial Park to house the Operations Department, as well as Sodexo (building maintenance including custodial); Chartwell (Compass) food services; bus parking. AND -
"According to the Springfield Business Journal via Google:
Nixa Public Schools purchased the 20-acre former Snyder Equipment property (and an adjacent 5-acre tract) near Nicholas Road and Snyder Blvd for $4.6 million. The site, featuring 75,000 square feet across five buildings, is becoming a new district operations center to house tech services, food services, and future bus transport.
- Location: Off Nicholas Road and Snyder Blvd, a half-mile north of Nixa High School.
- Purpose: The facility allows the district to move support departments to relieve overcrowding on school campuses.
- Capacity: The site includes 20 acres from Snyder Equipment and a 5-acre adjacent tract, totaling 25 acres with 75,000 square feet of building space.
- Future Use: In addition to operations, parts of the site will be used for Student Athletic Activities.
- Nixa Athletic Calendar
This does not include the sports classified as curriculum:
JROTC Leadership and Education Training LET1-2000 includes archery, rifle marksmanship, rappelling, raider, and drones.
Introduction to Robotics - 8935 which I approve, but at the college level. This class includes an aerial drone competition and a VEX robotics competition. The VEX kits for competition starter kits are $1,285; competition kits are $2,150. Does each student need an individual kit? What about the drones?
eSports is listed as a club, but it meets in the library Monday through Thursday from 2:30 to 5:30. Facilitators are Scott Dunn, Hannah Martin, and Ryan Burnside; all listed as teachers. Since the club meets after school hours, do the teachers get extra pay. Nixa schools now use Career Ladder. And according to the March board meetings, Elizabeth Tiller is a team leader. She is listed under Staff as Teacher.
eSports are video games: Overwatch, Valorant, Rocket League, Apex Legends, Super Smash Bros, and Marvel Rivals are the names of the games.
Yes, we pay for the equipment In May, 2022, Springfield schools paid $59,520 for 60 laptops and related equipment to add eSports in the high schools.
Financial Information:
Fund Balance Information and more
Bond Projects Click on YouTube for the Jr. High Theater, etc.
Scroll down for other projects. Main items -
District Technology: Smart Boards
Google: A SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard that acts as a large, touch-sensitive display, connecting to a computer and projector to allow users to control applications, write notes, and manipulate content directly on the screen. It enables collaborative, hands-on learning in classrooms and interactive presentations in business environments.
District Safety: Fencing. What is that at Inman?
District Operations: More on this elsewhere, but a full kitchen, including a dishwasher?
High Pointe and Summit: Track paved. Is running on pavement bad for you?
Espy: Playground equipment replaced. More dangerous? What's in background?
Espy and JTSD: Pavement for picking up students.
School Buses: Added 1 new bus and 5 buses. Enrollment dropping.
High Pointe and Summit Storm Shelters: Do they have them at home? Are they going to add them to all of the buildings? I couldn't find a record of a Nixa student being injured by a storm while at school in the past.
Media Center: What is it?
Journalism: OMG
Greenhouse: Do we really need one this big?
Birdhouse: Renovations.
FACS: New kitchen. We used to call this Home Ec, and it sure didn't look like this.
Employee Fitness Studio. They can't use what the kids use?
Quick News TV with archives
Nixa Podcasts Including Learning with Loden The Superintendent
March Board Meeting Board Meeting recaps are shown here. or you can access the videos on their website www.nixapublicschools.net/schoolboard or Board Meeting Archives
Staff entire district in one list
Nixa Health Clinics Clinics at High School, Jr. High, Faught Administration, and ELC; also a roaming member who can visit the other schools if time available. This service is for students, teachers, staff members, and staff dependents.
One Nixa Paid classes for the public held at Faught Administration
Salary Schedules 185 days
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Wow that is a lot of money spent on non academic activies.
ReplyDeleteWow!!!
ReplyDeleteHorrific waste, only done because they are spending other people’s money. And historically there was no transparency. We need to let the voters know. Are we funding a school or a country club? Academics are suffering , failing students are being promoted. It is a sad state of affairs.
ReplyDelete