St. Joseph School District
Transparency
Transparency implies honesty, openness, and accountability. This page is provided to share information about the St. Joseph School District with our community. Visit the links below to learn more about financial records, sunshine requests, book challenges, and more.
Annual Report
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) publishes an Annual Report Card for every public school district in the state. This information provides a comprehensive overview of the public schools in St. Joseph. After clicking the link, choose St. Joseph for the District/Charter drop down menu.
Sunshine Requests
To submit a Sunshine Request, you must complete and submit the form linked above in its entirety. Requests will not be processed without a submitted form.
Sunshine requests can be emailed to Geana Bush.
Effective May 8, 2025
The district follows the Missouri Sunshine Law when responding to requests for access or copies to District records. This includes charging fees of $.10 per page for hard copies, and appropriate fees for staff time for search, research, and duplication time, as well as professional staff time for programming and providing access to electronic records. The district may, but is not required to, furnish without charge or reduce a charge when the district determines the request is in the public interest. The district will also provide a cost estimate and estimated date by which records will be provided upon request and/or when the district is unable to provide responsive records within three business days.
Past Requests
8-6-2026
Requester/Request: Kristopher Miller
Voting records for the closed Board of Education meetings on July 27, 2026 and July 30, 2026.
Response Due Date: 8-9-2026
Cost: $8.15 paid on 8-7-2026 for the voting record from July 27, 2026. No charge for the voting record from July 30, 2026 because the documents were still available from a previous request.
Responded: 8-7-2026
Response: 1415 N. 26th Street, St. Joseph, MO 64506
7-29-2026
Requester/Request: James Dentico
- Awarded Contract – the complete, fully executed contract with First Student, including all appendices, exhibits, amendments, modifications, change orders, and extensions.
- Invoices – all invoices submitted by First Student under the transportation contract for the billing period of April 2026 through July 2026.
Response Due Date: 8-8-2026
Cost: $32.12 paid on 8-5-2026
Responded: 8-6-2026
Response: 1415 N. 26th Street, St. Joseph, MO 64506
7-30-2026
Requester/Request: Whitney Lanning
Voting record for the closed Board of Education meeting on July 30, 2026.
Response Due Date: 8-5-2026
Cost: $8.15
Responded: 8-3-2026. The request was received at 6:05 p.m. on Thursday, July 30, 2026. Because SJSD was closed at 4:30 p.m. on July 30 and remained closed on Friday, July 31, Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2, no response was legally required during the district’s closure. The district’s response on Monday, August 3, 2026, was timely and within the timeframe required by law.
Response: 1415 N. 26th Street, St. Joseph, MO 64506
Financial Records
Book Challenges
Book review committees use a form to record key takeaways, assess if the book meets selection criteria set forth by the Board of Education, and making a recommendation to keep, restrict, or remove the book from collections. The final decision will be documented below.
The ABCs of LGBT+ by Ash Hardwell
Challenged on 5/28/24
Committee decision on 6/24/24 - Retain book with no restrictions
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
Challenged on 5/28/24
Committee decision on 6/20/24 - Retain book with no restrictions
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
Challenged on 5/28/24
Committee decision on 10/29/24 - Retain book with no restrictions
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Challenged on 5/29/24
Committee decision on 8/28/24 - Retain book with no restrictions
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
Challenged on 5/28/24
Committee decision on 8/27/24 - Retain book with restriction of parent permission required
Get the Facts
How to Verify Missouri Teacher Certification
Wondering whether a teacher or staff member holds a Missouri certification? Certification information is publicly available through the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
To verify an educator’s credentials:
- Visit the Missouri DESE Educator Certification Search tool.
- Select the appropriate school district and year, or search by the educator’s name.
- Review the educator’s listed credentials and certification information.
For additional information about Missouri teacher certification and certification requirements, visit the DESE Educator Certification webpage.
Posting Board Meetings
The St. Joseph School District is committed to providing the public with timely information about Board of Education meetings.
Missouri’s Sunshine Law requires public governmental bodies to provide notice of meetings, including the date, time, place and tentative agenda, in a manner reasonably calculated to inform the public about the matters to be considered. Notice must generally be provided at least 24 hours before the meeting, excluding weekends and holidays when the facility is closed.
SJSD follows those requirements and also uses additional communication methods to make meeting information easier for the community to find and access.
Required by Missouri law
- Public notice: Meeting notices must generally be posted at least 24 hours in advance, except in limited circumstances.
- Required information: The notice must include the meeting’s date, time, place and tentative agenda.
- Posting location: Notice must be posted on a bulletin board or other prominent place that is easily accessible to the public at the governmental body’s principal office. SJSD posts a hardcopy of the notice in two locations at the Noyes Administration Building at 1415 N. 26th Street, St. Joseph, MO 64506.
- Closed meetings: When a meeting or portion of a meeting will be closed, the notice must identify the specific statutory exception that allows it to be closed.
Additional SJSD practices
SJSD also provides Board meeting information through additional channels as a courtesy to help keep families and community members informed:
- SJSD District Calendar: Upcoming Board meetings and related information are posted on the district website calendar.
- Simbli: Open Board meetings are posted on the Board’s public portal, where agendas and related materials are available.
- Social media: Livestream information for open Board meetings is shared on social media the day of the meeting.
These additional communication methods are supplemental to, and do not replace, the public notice required by Missouri law.
SJSD has met and will continue to meet the public notice expectations of Missouri’s Sunshine Law.
Learn more about Missouri’s Sunshine Law from the Missouri Attorney General’s Sunshine Law resources and Missouri Revised Statutes, Chapter 610.