COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Nearly 1,400 Columbia Public Schools students will graduate this weekend. CPS is holding four graduation ceremonies for its high schools on Saturday and Sunday. An email from a district spokeswoman says Battle High School will graduate 345 students, Douglass High School will graduate 58, Hickman High School will see 477 students walk
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri House sent an amended bill for state designations back to the Senate on Wednesday. One such designation would make June 28 each year “Eliot and Muriel Battle Day” in Missouri. The text of the amendment says people are “encouraged to participate in…events and activities” honoring Eliot Battle, the first Black
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Education on Monday approved a salary increase for Superintendent Jeff Klein. The increase was on the agenda for Monday’s Board of Education meeting, which began at 6 p.m. Under the proposal, Klein will receive a 6% salary increase ($15,300) for the next school year. Klein currently makes $255,000
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools leaders could approve a new salary package for Superintendent Jeff Klein while also renewing a program that brings international teachers into district classrooms at Monday night’s meeting. The school district is seeking approval to renew an agreement with BVD Cultural Exchange, LLC, a company that helps sponsor international teachers
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Klein’s salary is an agenda item for Monday night’s Board of Education meeting. The board is expected to approve a 6% salary increase ($15,300) for Klein for the next school year, according meeting documents. Klein currently makes $255,000 per year and the increase would bump it up
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A vehicle and a Columbia Public Schools bus collided on Interstate 70 eastbound east of St. Charles Road on Wednesday. CPS spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said no students were on the bus. Boone County dispatchers sent out a public alert saying the road was likely blocked. Columbia Police are working the crash scene.
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools announced in a Friday press release that Douglass High School Principal Eryca Neville has been named the district’s executive director of alternative education. Neville has been the principal at Douglass High School since 2011 and was a teacher in the district before, the release says. She serves with the
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Rock Bridge Elementary School student was found with a BB gun in their backpack before dismissal on Thursday, according to an email from a district spokeswoman. Columbia Public Schools spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark shared an email to ABC 17 News that was sent to parents following the incident. “We were alerted to
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A former West Middle School teacher who was arrested for a second time earlier this month is no longer listed on the Boone County Jail roster. Zachary Hutchinson, of Columbia, is charged with felonies in two cases. In one case, he is charged with three counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, one count
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Monday night’s Columbia Board of Education meeting was abruptly halted after a group of residents protested the district’s decision to replace its chief equity officer. Last week, Columbia Public Schools posted a job opening for chief equity officer, a position previously held by Carla London. London was responsible for training homeschool communicators
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Public School District has issued 2,628 cellphone policy referrals so far this school year, according to the district. The district says that number reflects incidents and not individual students, as one student can receive multiple referrals. This marks a decrease from 3,185 in the 2024-2025 school year. In the 2023-2024
Continue Reading
Drivers can no longer use the St. Charles Road bridge to access I-70 in Columbia, as the Missouri Department of Transportation is expected to wrap up demolition of the bridge on Monday morning.
An ABC 17 News reporter saw the bridge demolished and final cleanup work being done Sunday morning. Several cranes and frontloaders were also seen in a section of I-70 between where the bridge had been.
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The three incumbents in the Columbia Board of Education race retained their seats on Tuesday. April Ferrao (6,537 votes), John Lyman (6,218) and Paul Harper (6,183) kept their seats against challenger Dr. Keary Husain (2,759). “Paul, April and I have talked every single day, I think, for the last three plus years,
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A charter school looking to operate in Boone County has refiled its application. An item on the Missouri Board of Education’s April meeting agenda says Frontier Schools are looking for the state to approve its application for a STEM academy in Columbia. Saint Louis University had pulled its application in January after
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A former West Middle School teacher who was charged with statutory sodomy and a slew of other child sex crimes is now charged in another case. Zachary Hutchinson, of Columbia, was arrested on Friday and charges appeared on Monday in his new case. He is now charged with three counts of child
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A former West Middle School teacher who was charged with statutory sodomy and other charges earlier this year was arrested again on Friday. Zachary Hutchinson, 38, of Columbia, is being held at the Boone County Jail. New charges were not shown on Casenet on Friday evening. Jail records indicate he is being
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Three seats are up for grabs in the Columbia Board of Education election with all four candidates highlighting bullying as a major issue in the district that needs to be addressed. Four people are running for three spots. Board President John Lyman, Vice President Paul Harper and Boardmember April Ferrao are trying to retain a spot on
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Edits to Columbia Public Schools’ bullying policy, including summer interactions and employee protocol, will be discussed during a school board policy committee meeting Wednesday. The new policy, if passed, would implement new guidelines for instructors on handling reports of bullying. The initial policy had instructors and employees ask to report incidents to
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Boone County judge sided Wednesday with Columbia Public Schools in a lawsuit alleging the district breached a contract for football field naming rights at Rock Bridge High School. Wayne Sells filed the lawsuit in October 2024 after CPS removed his name from the Rock Bridge football field. The Columbia Board of
Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The eight-days-before-election financial reports were due at 5 p.m. Monday to the Missouri Ethics Commission and all four candidates for the Columbia Board of Education submitted theirs on time. Four people are running for three spots. Board President John Lyman, Vice President Paul Harper and Boardmember April Ferrao are trying to retain
Continue Reading