Tagged: columbia school board

Columbia's very public discussion about a proposed Enhanced Enterprise Zone in the city made an appearance at Monday night's School Board meeting, where residents said the policy could negatively impact education funding by reducing tax revenue to schools. The EEZ policy has been supported by some economic development groups to encourage new-business development in the city.

Five Columbia residents spoke out against the EEZ policy in the Columbia School Board's public comment session Monday night.

The Columbia Board of Education will appoint a new member this month after Paul Cushing’s resignation.

Board President Tom Rose says it will not hold an election for the position – it’ll accept applicants instead.

"We'll interview the candidates on October 30 at an evening meeting that is open for anyone to attend. We essentially develop a list of questions that we have that they are able to prepare and we'll have each of them answer," says Rose.

The four current applicants are Rex Cone, Tim Parshall, Bill Kinney, and former board member Darin Preis.

Columbia's school board has come out in favor of a state ballot measure that would raise the state's cigarette tax and possibly bring money to public schools.

Proposition B is a proposed tobacco tax on November's ballot. It would raise taxes on cigarettes purchased in Missouri, which is currently ranked 11th in smoking rates and has the lowest cigarette tax of any state. The proposed tax would move Missouri to 36th place in nation-wide cigarette taxes and some of the money collected would be used to fund public schools.

This week on the show, you’ll hear from a couple of the candidates running for the school board here in Columbia. In Tuesday’s election, voters will pick two of the four candidates, who will each serve three year terms.