State Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin (R-Shelbina) serves as the Missouri Senate Majority Leader, a powerful position in Jefferson City. Republicans have a supermajority in the Senate, 24-10. Senator O’Laughlin is the first female to hold that post in state history. She joined us live this morning on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” to preview Missouri’s 2024 legislative session and to discuss education, particularly the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Leader O’Laughlin tells listeners that DESE wants an additional $250-million in funding next year, emphasizing that she’s opposed to that. Senator O’Laughlin says schools are receiving record funding but that the money is not getting to teachers. She says our classrooms are being “dumbed down” and that schools need to be teaching students how to read and write:
(AUDIO): Comobuz.com publisher Mike Murphy discusses CPS, CPS candidates forum and trash on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable”
Comobuz.com publisher Mike Murphy will moderate Monday night’s Columbia school board candidate debate inside Mizzou’s Cornell Hall. He expects a good crowd for the event, which begins at 6:30 at Bush auditorium, inside Cornell. The seven candidates on the CPS ballot are expected to be there. They are, in ballot order, Paul Harper, John Potter, incumbent Christopher Horn, James Edward Gordon, John Lyman, April Ferrao and former State Representative Chuck Basye (R-Rocheport). During Saturday’s interview, host Fred Parry and Murphy criticized the questions being asked at other forums, saying nothing is being asked about CPS academic performance. Mr. Murphy plans to ask about CPS’ 70 percent score on the DESE annual performance review. Murphy tells listeners that 80 percent of Missouri schools ranked higher than CPS. Mr. Parry and Mr. Murphy also discussed CPS superintendent Dr. Brian Yearwood, the Wayne Sells CPS case, Columbia’s trash issue and Columbia city council races:
(AUDIO): Yearwood: CPS renewing its focus on attendance, following DESE report
Attendance issues contributed to Columbia Public Schools (CPS) scoring just 70 percent on the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) annual performance review.
CPS Superintendent Dr. Brian Yearwood tells 939 the Eagle that attendance is down since COVID.
“We are working on attendance especially for our scholars that should be in attendance 90 percent of the time. We dropped there and we are working on … we’ve put things in place to increase. We’ve increased visits, we’ve increased notifications, calling,” Dr. Yearwood says.
Dr. Yearwood says CPS is also doing celebrations for students who attend school at least 90 percent of the time. He says the district must maintain its focus on boosting attendance. Dr. Yearwood notes attendance is critical to learning.
“Every day they’re absent it’s actually three days, because you have to look at review from the day before, then the current learning and then also preparing for the next day’s lessons. So one day of absence is really three days of being absent,” says Dr. Yearwood.
He also addressed the issue briefly before dozens of Columbia business leaders and elected officials during Wednesday’s REDI board meeting.
Missouri’s governor urges state lawmakers to increase starting pay for teachers
Missouri’s governor received a standing ovation from lawmakers last week when he called for full funding of the state’s k-12 education foundation formula. Governor Mike Parson (R) wants lawmakers to continue to invest in children and education. “Our students deserve a quality education and their parents demand it. And that is why we are again …
Missouri’s governor slams “Post-Dispatch” over DESE computer story; newspaper says it waited to publish story until problem could be fixed
Missouri’s governor has asked Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson and the state Highway Patrol to investigate the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch,” accusing the newspaper of hacking the state Department of Education’s website. The newspaper disagrees, saying it informed state officials of a data risk that left 100,000 Social Security numbers vulnerable to public disclosure. Governor Mike …