Waynesville working to make more classroom space available for preschool children.

The Waynesville School District recently re-opened a remodeled and repurposed Parker Educational Center in Waynesville to offer more preschool opportunities for four-year-olds. 40 students were accepted, but that left 80 preschool applicants on a waiting list, and Williams Early Childhood Center on Fort Leonard Wood continues to have a waiting list. Many daycare facilities are full and 59 percent of local military spouses say the ability to find child care and the cost has an impact on their ability to be employed, which is clearly a problem. Waynesville Superintendent of Schools Hilary Bales says the school administration and board of education are working to make more classroom space available for preschool children.

She says the district could potentially build a new elementary school on existing school district property.

When voters approved Prop C in April of 2017, that was supposed to meet the minimum effort required for ten years, but the government subsequently changed its minimum effort requirement.

Waynesville has a tax levy of $2.95 per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation while the State of Missouri’s average school tax levy is $4.19.