SJSD Finance Committee brainstorms ideas for revenue boosts and cost-saving measures  

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- The St. Joseph School District held its third Finance Committee meeting of the year Tuesday afternoon, bringing members together at the district office to brainstorm new ways to boost revenue and cut costs. 

A big part of the conversation focused on staffing — specifically, how employees are spread out across buildings and whether the district is using its staff as efficiently as possible. 

Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations, Robert Hedgecorth, said the group came up with several creative ideas, including partnering with local businesses.  

“We have a lot of great businesses in our district, so seeking possible businesses for sponsorships to support the district financially, whether it be through advertisements or pamphlets,” Hedgecorth said.  

Another idea that stood out to him was looking into grant opportunities, especially those that help improve school entrances and walkways.  

He noted, many of these grants go unnoticed simply because people don’t realize they exist.  

“A lot of the reasons why we have that finance committee, because there are people in our community that want to help our schools want to see our schools thrive. And so it was a great, you know, brainstorming exercise for us to, go through,” Hedgecorth said.  

The committee also spent time looking at federal funding trends and discussing how to keep the district financially stable moving forward. 

One of the key topics was the district’s hiring justification form — a process that requires departments to explain why a vacant position truly needs to be refilled.  

“Any position where someone might leave a position in the past, we would have just rehired that position because we had it before. If someone leaves, has to have a justification for why we should rehire that position. And that is reviewed by everybody on our cabinet,” Hedgecorth added.  

Hedgecorth said meetings like this are important for keeping communication open and making sure the district is being thoughtful and transparent about its financial decisions — all to strengthen the community.