Hillsboro R-III School District 2025 Legislative Platform
The Hillsboro R-III School District prioritizes supporting legislative measures that enhance educational opportunities, preserve local governance, and ensure sustainable funding for public schools. The following outlines the district's top priorities for the 2025 legislative session:
Preservation of Education Funding and Support Systems
The Hillsboro R-III School District supports fully funding SB727 to deliver its intended educational benefits and positively impact students across Missouri. This includes safeguarding the funding allocated for critical education programs and student transportation. Maintaining these resources is essential to ensuring the integrity of existing systems that address diverse educational needs and prevent the compromise of educational quality.
Supporting Teacher Recruitment and Retention
The Hillsboro R-III School District acknowledges the statewide issue of a teacher shortage. As a district, we remain a destination district for educators, but it is evident that certain certification areas, such as special education and dual credit certifications, are harder to fill. We advocate for:

State Support for Local Decisions
State support for local decisions that address teacher shortages and provide flexibility to districts in meeting their staffing needs.

Higher Education Partnerships
Increased support for higher education and K-12 partnerships that provide additional financial benefits/scholarships for students to pursue careers in education.

Opportunities for Retired Educators
Expanding opportunities for retired educators to fill hard-to-staff positions while protecting the sustainability of the Public School Retirement System (PSRS) and Public Education Employee Retirement System (PEERS). The district strongly opposes any efforts to reduce or alter retirement benefits.
Financial Support and Incentives
Financial support and incentives for innovative ideas that allow districts to implement outside-the-box solutions to recruit and retain educators, particularly in hard-to-fill certification areas. This could include funding alternative certification programs, flexible hiring models, and targeted teacher support initiatives.
SB727 169-Day Incentive
While we work to achieve the SB727 169-day incentive of 1% and 2% to increase teacher compensation, we request specific action plans that allow districts to qualify for these funds in cases where a significant number of weather-related closings create significant hardships to meet the 169-day threshold. This includes scenarios where making up additional days negatively impacts summer school and staffing or causes an unintended financial hardship.
Opposition to Open Enrollment and Policies Undermining Local Control
The district strongly opposes open enrollment measures that divert resources away from local public schools and create inequities among districts. Hillsboro R-III also opposes legislative actions that impose unfunded mandates, including curriculum requirements or financial obligations, which increase burdens on local taxpayers without input or approval from locally elected school boards.
Protecting Public Education and Limiting Privatization Efforts
Hillsboro R-III advocates for equitable access to quality public education and sustainable funding solutions to enhance it. The district opposes privatization initiatives, including vouchers, tax credits, virtual privatization, or similar programs that deplete financial resources from local public schools. Additionally, the district supports limiting the expansion of charter schools until accountability and transparency measures are established to ensure public funds effectively serve all children.
Commitment to Local Decision-Making
The Hillsboro R-III School District is committed to advocating for policies that empower local school boards to make decisions in the best interests of their communities while ensuring all students receive a high-quality, student-focused education.