Opinions are varied on what the Warren County R-III School District should do about restructuring. Parents, district officials, faculty and community members gathered Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the Warrenton High School commons to discuss options for the district's restructuring plans due to poor grades at Warrior Ridge and Daniel Boone elementary schools. Approximately 170 people attended. In 2012, proficiency requirements set forth by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in communication arts and math are 83.7 percent and 81.7, respectively. The schools in question for the R-III District had scores of 47 percent for communication arts and 47.6 percent for math in 2011. "I can tell you, we have a lot of room for improvement," Superintendent Dr. Tom Muzzey said at the start of the meeting. "We're ranked 408 out of 521 schools in state achievement. That's in the bottom 25 percent of the state. "I don't think I could tell you anything that would make you all happy tonight, but there are people who are looking for better than 25 percent," Muzzey added. A 36-member committee of district staff, parents, and community members, which was formed in October, recommended three restructuring options, which could include a K-five, K-four or two-five schools. Warrior Ridge, Daniel Boone and Rebecca Boone elementary schools will operate as a K-fifth school if that option is chosen. The K-four option will see Black Hawk Middle School and Daniel Boone become one school, which will hold all K-four students. Warrior Ridge and Rebecca Boone will then become five-six and seven-eight schools, respectively. The 2-5 option will make Warrior Ridge and Rebecca Boone two-five schools and Daniel Boone will remain unchanged. The restructuring committee will meet Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 6:30 p.m. in the Black Hawk Middle School library. It hopes to have a final restructuring option selected by the end of the year. The district was faced with a variety of options from DESE to help improve its MAP (measures of academic progress) scores. Other options included the state board of education running the schools, replacing all or most of the staff or giving up approximately $585,000 in Title I money the district had received. Muzzey said those options would not have been popular in the community and that with the programs the district offers, it could not afford giving up its Title I money. A glaring area of concern, according to district officials, was with the district's pre-K program. "We looked at students in our peer group and some have pre-K," Muzzey said. "We have the Headstart program and only 18 out of 230 eligible students receive those services." Muzzey asked Daniel Boone Principal Dr. Carrie Schwierjohn to assess the district's incoming kindergartners earlier this school year. "Thirty-two percent of our kindergartners came to school with the skills they need for kindergarten," he said. "That's two-thirds of kindergartners who do not have the skills they need to be ready for kindergarten." Those in attendance gave mixed reactions as to how to handle the restructuring process. Some felt the problem is a lack of support from parents and guardians. "There's a family dynamic we need in our community," said Angela Day, a parent of two children in the district. "I don't think it's a matter of what building they're in. There's a family dynamic we're not touching and it's outside of school." "My daughter is a junior so this doesn't affect me, but how many hundreds of parents aren't here tonight?" parent Laurie Garrison asked. "You can't make parents participate, but they need to." Parent Kristy Cornell agreed. "The number of people who have turned out tonight is ridiculous," she said. "I am an involved parent. I go to three different locations to drop my kids off at school. That's how it is because that's being a parent. It's my job to know if they have homework and if they're passing school." "My concern is that we haven't heard throughout this discussion what is best for our students," said Daniel Boone teacher Melissa Greene. "I like the K-five. I like the consistency." Some parents said because students have had to change school buildings every few years, there was a growing disconnect. Parent Brandi Tittel said she will have three children in the district next school year. "I would like all three in the same building," she said. "The teachers can blend them with other students who don't learn well and those who do. The teachers need to get to know the children. I want what's best for them." "Children have to have connections to learn," added parent Tammi Baue. "Children are moving from building to building and not developing a relationship with the building. When connections are made, I think the attendance is going to go up." Committee member John Cornell said he did not believe changing the structure and alignment within the district's buildings will help improve students' MAP scores. "The buildings are not limiting student achievement," he said. "Maybe it's how we're delivering the curriculum. At some point, we have to learn in the buildings we're provided with and the curriculum we teach." Other parents made inquiries about a cost associated with the suggested building changes. "My main concern is that we've explored three options and have no idea of what the cost will be for taxpayers and parents," said parent Theresa Hunt. "The buildings aren't our problem. The students not learning is our problem. Why change the building when we have no idea what the cost will be?" Hunt said she felt the district needed to have an idea of a cost before it moved forward with any restructuring proposals. "I wouldn't go build a house and not know how much it'll cost me," she said. "Why aren't we using our resources for the students who are unprepared so our MAP scores go up?" The district has taken steps to improve student learning through implementing programs such as Fast ForWord Reading and Singapore Math. Muzzey said because of the uncertainty with choosing a restructuring method, costs will vary. "We operate around a $28 million budget and is $200,000 or $300,000 going to stop you?" he asked. "That's tough for me. Let's not let $200,000 or $300,000 dictate what we're going to do for our kids the next 10 years. "The district has been so close from going from good to great a number of times and maybe we were $50,000 short of making that happen," Muzzey added. "We have to have the money to spend it." In correlation with the No Child Left Behind Act, 100 percent of students will need to be at least proficient on MAP scores by 2014. Muzzey said the district will not meet those requirements, but it needs to be between 70 and 80 percent proficient. "In three years, I want to be in the top 50 percent of schools across the state," he added. "If we're moving backward, I won't be here. If I didn't believe in the school, I wouldn't be bringing my daughter here (next school year). I'm not going to hang around and collect a paycheck."