COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Education unanimously passed the 2026-27 budget at its meeting on Monday evening. Previous reporting and a presentation from the district show the operating budget projects $309.8 million in revenue compared with $321.5 million in expenditures, resulting in a planned use of approximately $11.7 million in reserves. Healthcare costs
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools will return to Cole County court on Monday as the months-long legal battle over charter schools in Boone County continues. CPS filed the suit in December after the charter school, Frontier, announced a plan to establish a charter school in the county. The application was later approved by
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools is proposing a roughly $390.7 million budget for the 2026-27 school year that relies on dipping into reserves to cover rising costs, most notably the opening of a new elementary school and uncertainties surrounding state funding. The district’s operating budget, or General and Teachers funds, accounts for roughly 80%
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri State Highway Patrol has completed its annual bus inspections. A Wednesday press release from MSHP says 10,239 buses were approved on its initial inspection, while 849 were rated “defective” and 283 were determined to be “out of service.” The release says that defective components require repair within 10 days, “out-of-service”
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Monday was the first day of summer school for Columbia Public Schools, and a press release from a district spokeswoman says more than 9,400 students are attending class. The release says that figure represents more than half of the district’ regular school year enrollment. Students in kindergarten through eighth grade can enter
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools announced in a Friday press release that Virginia Tate has been picked to become Hickman High School’s next principal. Tate is the assistant principal at Rock Bridge High School. She replaces Mary Grupe, who is taking a job at the district’s central office. The release says Tate has more
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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,
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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
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