Daniel Boone, Rebecca Boone and Warrior Ridge elementary schools will all become kindergarten through fifth-grade schools beginning with the 2012-2013 school year as part of a restructuring process. The restructuring plan will impact approximately 1,600 elementary level students in the district. Implementing the changes will cost the district approximately $250,000, which according to district officials, will come out of reserves. At the recommendation of a 36-member district restructuring committee, the Warren County R-III School Board voted 6-0 to implement the restructuring changes. Board member David Housewright was absent from last Thursday's special meeting. Superintendent Dr. Tom Muzzey addressed concerns regarding the configuration of the three schools. "It was a tough decision for the board, but they were able to make an informed decision after the work of the committee," he told The Record. "The committee worked hard to come up with what they thought was the best option for the community." He said because such a large number of students and staff will likely be moving to new schools, he understood concerns from district parents. "There could be unforeseen things that pop up," Muzzey said. "We wanted to make sure we have a system in place to deal with any issues so parents are supportive of the process." 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 42 percent for communication arts and 47.8 percent for math in 2011. Because third-grade Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scores at Warrior Ridge have not met AYP requirements the previous five years, the district's elementary schools were placed in the planning stage of a restructuring process, through the No Child Left Behind Act. District officials said it is unlikely that scores will meet those requirements this year. In 2014, proficiency requirements for communication arts and mathematics will both be 100 percent. The committee met six times in recent months to discuss restructuring options and collected parent and staff survey results on what option they preferred. Other options considered included a kindergarten through fourth-grade "super school;" a kindergarten through first- and second-grade school and two second- through fifth-grade schools or leaving the present structure the same. Choosing to leave the current structure in place, however, would have cost the district $585,000 each year in Title I money as it would not have met DESE requirements. Failure to meet those requirements would have made the district ineligible for receiving such funds, according to officials. District officials said their research of the restructuring proposals did not prove one option was more successful than others. "We found there were a lot of different structures with a lot of different successes," Assistant Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith told the school board. Committee member Karen Gregory said there were a number of criteria they wanted to meet. "The first thing was student achievement," she said. "That was our No. 1 priority." Gregory also said the committee wanted to enhance parent involvement, communication and relationships among teachers, parents and the community and eventually add a pre-kindergarten school. Based on those criteria, the committee formulated its survey questions. Survey results from parents and staff supported moving to three K through fifth-grade schools. A total of 2,716 surveys were sent to staff and parents. Of the 849 responses, just above 51 percent supported having three K through fifth-grade schools. "After doing two surveys, it is my hope that the end result is representative of the community's input and it will be supported by all," Muzzey said. "The committee worked hard to come up with what they thought was the best option for the community." A letter from DESE officials to district officials recommended having three kindergarten through fifth-grade schools to meet No Child Left Behind requirements. Selecting the kindergarten through fifth-grade option also allows the district to retain all of its staff - a point Muzzey has adamantly supported. "The letter from DESE made things a little more clear-cut," he said. Also at last Thursday's meeting, the school board awarded a bid for $14,900 from demographer Preston Smith, of Business Information Services, to draft boundaries, which will determine where affected students will attend school next year. District officials said Smith has previously worked with the Washington School District and will allow for "more of a hands-on approach" to allow the district more input. Muzzey said the district will be ready to implement all necessary changes by the start of the 2012-2013 school year. "We should have our first report from the demographer by late February and we should have developments into the early summer," he said. "It's an ongoing process." By July, Muzzey said the district will have finalized staffing changes, established bus routes and should be nearing completion on building renovations. "The work starts today for us," he said.