Megan Spees / Gate City Ryan Horner is administrator of the Revere C-3 School District and principal of the K-8 student body, which shrank from 29 last fall to 16.

REVERE, Mo. – The future of the Revere C-3 School District in Clark County, Mo., is at the mercy of voters who visit the polls in today’s election.

Included on the ballot is the question: “Shall the Revere C-3 School District annex into the Clark County R-1 School District effective July 1, 2012?”

Revere Superintendent and Principal Ryan Horner isn’t sure the community realizes the impact this decision could have on the small village that straddles a state highway. At the 2010 census, Revere had 79 residents.

“If Revere loses the school and the post office, the town will lose its identity,” he said.

In August 2011, a concerned resident took up a petition for annexation after speaking at a public hearing about the district’s tax rate of $4.92 per $100 assessed valuation – a ceiling amount that was set in the 1990s.

Although Revere’s tax rate has been the same for a number of years, Horner said taxpayers are shouldering a greater financial burden as federal funding disappears.

The tax rate in the Clark County School District is $3.25 per $100 assessed valuation.

Revere’s cost per pupil is $16,549, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The statewide average cost per pupil is $9,619.

Twenty-nine children in grades 1-8 started school in Revere last fall, according to Horner. Although the school has a kindergarten program, no students in that age category enrolled for 2011-12.

Since the start of the school year, four families have moved out of the area, leaving Revere with 16 students.

Horner said Revere finished 2010-11 with 29 pupils.

Approximately 215 eligible voters live in the Revere district. A simple majority is needed. If the measure passes, it will go before the Clark County School Board.

“I was surprised that a community member could go out and get a petition,” Horner said. “A lot of community members haven’t been into the school. They’re only seeing the dollars and cents of it.

“I try to encourage residents to go to the assessor and see how much they’ll save,” he added. “They might not see a huge savings unless they own a lot of land.”

Many Revere residents send their K-8 children to Clark County R-1. Technically, that’s not allowed because open enrollment isn’t an option in Missouri. Parents get around that by using grandparents’ Kahoka, Mo., addresses for their children. Families that do this are supposed to pay tuition to the district in which they live.

“Clark (County) will call and let us know the families are doing it,” Horner said.

However, he added, most parents will claim their children live mainly with the grandparents, and there is no way of proving whether or not they’re telling the truth.

“This has hurt us for many years because we pay tuition for them to go to Clark,” Horner said.

What’s troubling for Horner is that Revere ends up footing the bill for high school-aged students who never actually attended Revere.

The Class of 2002 was the last batch of seniors to graduate from Revere.

Horner realizes that on the surface, it’s hard to justify keeping the school’s doors open. Still, he’s “heard a lot of good things” from the community.

He noted that Revere students perform well academically. The school meets all seven standards on the state’s standardized Measures of Academic Progress testing. For three of the past four years, Revere has been named “Distinct in Performance” by the Missouri Department of Education.

“We’re one of only a handful of schools to get that,” Horner said.

A district must meet 13 of 14 criteria measures in standardized tests and performance in high school. Revere is eligible for “Distinct in Performance” because many of its K-8 pupils have excelled as high school students at Clark County.

Revere’s 11 full-time and four part-time employees will be looking for new jobs if the annexation is a go. Most of the staff have dual responsibilities – including Horner, who teaches math.

Children are grouped into grades 1-2 and 3-4. Grades 5-8 are departmentalized. Kindergarten is taught separately.

For the past couple of years, Revere students have been allowed to participate in football, basketball and track at Clark County. Revere has its own band program.

The school’s small size means more one-on-one attention for the students, according to Horner.

“If they’re not doing their homework, we’re on it,” Horner said. “We’re constantly in contact with the parents, saying, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on.’”