Increasing class sizes may reduce tickets allotted to each senior if commencement has to be held in the dome

It may seem early, but commencement was the most discussed item Tuesday on the Webb City R-7 Board of Education’s monthly agenda.

High school principal Jeff Wilke brought up the matter because he said rising senior class sizes mean it will be harder to seat family members in the Cardinal Dome if inclement weather forces the ceremony to be moved from Cardinal Stadium.

As it is, he said each graduate is allotted six tickets in case commencement is held in the dome. That was manageable in 2023, which was the only time commencement has been held indoors since moving commencement back to Cardinal Stadium from Missouri Southern State University after the 2011 tornado.

Wilke said family members without tickets in 2023 practically filled the auditorium, where they could watch a live feed of the ceremony.

There were about 275 graduates in 2023 and the class of 2024 was just under 300.

Wilke said the next four classes will all be above 300. He estimated there will be 323 in 2025, 353 in 2026, 356 in 2027 and 360 in 2028.

If the board continues to have the dome as the commencement backup location, Wilke said the ticket allotment will have to be reduced to four or five.

He termed that a less than ideal situation, leaving seniors to decide, “Who do you cut out of the family” when handing out dome tickets.

As Superintendent Brenten Byrd said, there’s still plenty of time to adopt a policy.

For now, though, it was decided that commencement will be held Friday, May 16, 2025. Here’s where to look for updates to the current school calendar.

Only four foreign exchange students each year

There was also a discussion of how many foreign exchange students should be allowed to enroll each year.

Josh Flora, assistant superintendent of business operations, asked if the board wants to allow more than four each year. That’s the current limit.

He said there are more agencies that want to place students here, but he denies their requests.

“My answer would be no,” said Byrd. He cited problems with late requests and “more agencies wanting to get in.”

Wilke said there’s a problem because foreign exchange students usually qualify to take advanced courses, where the class size is restricted.

Board members agreed they would not want local students denied a spot in an advanced course because of a foreign exchange student.

So the policy limiting the number of foreign exchange students to four remains.

That policy is one of many the board is considering during an annual process dealing with changes in board policy. Most of the changes are mandated by the state.

Students recognized

Nina Nguyen, a National Merit semifinalist now applying for finalist status, was among several students introduced by Stacy Stockton, high school gifted and enrichment instructor.

In addition to her academic success, Stockton noted that Nguyen is active in choir and theatre and is a math tutor.

Also recognized were students who attended the:

– Missouri Scholars Academy – Rylan Davis, Caitlin Norton and Carter Slinker.

– Missouri Fine Arts Academy – Sadie Dodson.

In other action:

• Flora invited board members to stop by the bus barn to see the remodeling progress. He also reported that the softball pitching/hitting facility is almost complete.

• The April 2025 board meeting was changed to April 15 since the regular date, April 8, will be election day and the outcome of the annual board election wouldn’t be known yet. Elected board members are sworn in during the April meeting.

• Approved a contract with Unearth Potential to meet the unusual education needs of student new to the district.

• Approved the resignation of Michael Thomas as a special education teacher at Franklin School because of medical concerns.