COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) For the first time in more than 15 years, the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services will not be offering flu shots in local schools during the fall semester. The free flu vaccines were previously offered by the Health Department each fall for students in preschool through 12th grade. The change
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By Devan Cole, John Fritze and Sunlen Serfaty, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Monday said President Donald Trump may proceed with his plan to carry out mass layoffs at the Department of Education in the latest win for the White House at the conservative high court. In an unsigned order, the justices lifted
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Local after-school organizations are raising alarms about the Education Department’s plan to withhold nearly $7 billion in funds for the next fiscal year. Those funds include money for programs such as the Boys and Girls Club. If the funding is not released, Boys and Girls Clubs across the country could face widespread
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Trial dates have been scheduled for next year in the case over the name of Rock Bridge High School’s football field. Wayne Sells refiled a lawsuit in October 2024 against Columbia Public Schools over the naming rights to the field. Sells previously filed a lawsuit against the school district in 2021, claiming
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Southern Boone School District is considering a schedule change for the 2026-27 school year. The district said in a Friday press release that it is considering changing its school week to four days. The release cites teacher recruitment and retention and enhancing student engagement for possible reasons. No changes will be
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By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Friday backed a group of religious parents who want to opt their elementary school children out of engaging with LGBTQ books in the classroom, another major legal win for religious interests at the conservative high court. In the latest decision blurring the line that once
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Jefferson City Board of Education on Thursday night unanimously approved its operating budget for next school year. The $172 million budget includes the largest base pay increase Jefferson City teachers have seen in 17 years. Certified staff will see an $1,800 increase to $43,300. The total raise for teachers with one
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A bond issue that was approved by voters this past spring, but was not certified by the state auditor’s office, is expected to appear on the ballot again this November. The Hallsville School District’s $6.5 million bond to complete the second part of a three-phase plan for construction to address the growing
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Editor’s note: The sentence referring to the percentage of families who do not qualify for free or reduced lunch has been corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Leaders at Columbia Public Schools are looking at how to best tackle the more than $90,000 of student meal debt. The conversation continued at the Columbia Public Schools’ Finance Committee
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A fire was reported Tuesday in the bathroom of Waynesville Middle School, according to a social media post from the St. Robert Fire Department. The department wrote that it was called around 10 a.m. and found moderate smoke in the building. It found a fire in one of the bathrooms, which was
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A “handful” of students and staff from Columbia Public Schools attended a national speech and debate tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, where a hoax threat occurred, according to a district spokeswoman. Spokesperson Michelle Baumstark wrote in a text message to ABC 17 News that fewer than 20 people from CPS were in
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Editor’s note: The sentence referring to the percentage of families who do not qualify for free or reduced lunch has been corrected. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools and a Pennsylvania-based debt collection agency have agreed to go after unpaid student lunch balances and other delinquent payments beginning July 1. The Columbia Board of Education
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Hallsville School District said Wednesday that a bond issue approved by voters in April will not be certified by State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick. According to a social media post, the district learned on Friday that the State Auditor’s Office will not authorize the bond issue. The post by Hallsville School District
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Education at its Monday night meeting unanimously approved next school year’s budget for the district. The district expects to spend roughly $307 million this upcoming school year. Previous reporting indicates that roughly three-quarters of the budget is made up of staff salaries and benefits. The Board had approved a
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Jefferson City School District saw another year of improvement after the Missouri State Highway Patrol released its annual bus inspections on Thursday. A press release from MSHP shows that from around the state, 10,144 buses were approved on its initial inspection, while 799 were rated “defective” and 312 were determined to
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A criminal summons has been issued for a Cole County deputy who was listed in a report for a December 2023 crash that left a driver with serious injuries. Mercy Gonzalez, of Jefferson City, was charged with reckless driving and failing to obey a traffic control device, both misdemeanors. The criminal summons
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The State Board of Education is considering a proposal that includes a Columbia school for disabled children among several statewide closures. The board first heard the proposal to close 12 Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled in May and heard an update to the plan on Tuesday. On the list is Delmar
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A discrimination lawsuit filed against Columbia Public Schools in 2023 was dismissed with prejudice on Tuesday. A parent of a child who attended Oakland Middle School sued the school district in 2023, alleging complaints that his child was assaulted, called racial slurs, falsely accused of stealing, stalked and wrongly blamed for playing
Continue Reading JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) An 18-month process begins on Monday for the Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force appointed by Gov. Mike Kehoe. The 16-member task force, established by Executive Order 25-14, is looking to modernize the state’s K-12 foundation formula and recommend updates to the state’s foundational funding structure. Missouri’s school funding formula was
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Louisville Courier Journal filed a complaint on Friday against a Kentucky school board that hired former Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Brian Yearwood. Jefferson County Public Schools said in a social media post on Thursday that the Board of Education voted 5-2 on Thursday to offer a contract, though it did not
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