EROS — The Ozark Mountain School District Board of Education met Wednesday, Jan. 22, in regular session. The agenda included a continued discussion on the future of the Bruno-Pyatt Elementary School here, and the consensus was not to talk about it again until October.
Last November, Superintendent Jeff Lewis presented and discussed information regarding Ozark Mountain School District's strategic plan. Millage extension and Bruno-Pyatt Campus enrollment issues were topics included in the discussion, according to that meeting's official minutes.
Lewis informed the board that the Bruno-Pyatt Elementary campus was operating at a deficit of approximately $436,000 using last year's M and O expenditures and this year's salaries of employees. Lewis agreed to send out an informational letter and survey to parents only of the BPES in regards to the future of the campus.
The school district notified patrons of the Bruno-Pyatt Elementary School that the school would hold kindergarten registration much earlier than normal for the 2025-26 school year.
The announcement, appearing on the school's Facebook page noted: "Registration will be from 9:00-3:00 on Jan. 14, 2025, on the Bruno-Pyatt campus.
"Again, it is of utmost importance that we have a count of our Kindergarten students for the 2025-26 school year by January 14, 2025."
Lewis brought up the matter late in the Jan. 22 meeting.
"I heard from some folks on things that we've been discussing in the past, Lewis said, looking at some papers laid out in front of him. They apparently included some information about the school's enrollment over the past 10 years, showing the trend of decreasing numbers of students. A recent survey questioned whether
parents would leave their child in the district if the Bruno-Pyatt campus was to close. Out of the 29 students, 15 will stay, 10 said they will leave, and four are undecided.
"I do think it is too soon. I don't think we're ready for this... (he was careful not to suggest the possibility of closing the school), but there are going to have to be some changes," the superintendent told the board.
He noted some of the school's teachers have resigned and he thought combining some grade levels could be done. It's not ideal, but it's been done in the past.