Officials with Springfield Public Schools, Ozarks Technical Community College, Missouri State University and CoxHealth announced on Tuesday the formation of the alliance, intended to blaze a trail for helping students pursue a career in the medical industry.
While the governing boards for MSU and OTC were unanimous in support with 8-0 and 5-0 votes, respectively, the Springfield Board of Education’s vote was split.
Officials confirmed the closed-session board vote on Aug. 22 was 4-3 with board members Kelly Byrne, Steve Makoski and Maryam Mohammadkhani voting against the agreement. President Danielle Kincaid and board members Judy Brunner, Scott Crise and Shurita Thomas-Tate voted in favor.
In an interview with the Hauxeda, Kincaid declined to address concerns board members brought up during the closed discussion, but said the board is excited about the future with the alliance.
“This is a huge opportunity for a great collaboration with the city’s major education players,” Kincaid said. “It matches up with our strategic plan, and allows us to be a leader as we grow in the Midwest.”
Speaking for only himself, Byrne said that in discussions of joining the alliance, he voted no because of its emphasis on the SPS Choice program instead of the general student body. Part of the deal calls for SPS and OTC to develop a health care path for the program and admit 100 students for the fall '24 semester.
“We have a lot of work to do to improve academic outcomes for all of our students without putting our resources into special programs that benefit only a few,” Byrne said. “When we had a consultant in to develop our strategic plan, he advised us to ‘major on the majors,' to focus on what we need to focus on,” Byrne said.
Also speaking only for herself, Mohammadkhani said some of the agreement's finer details kept her from voting in support. She said she loves the alliance and its mission, and is excited and optimistic about it now that it has been announced, but in discussions, was concerned about future financial obligations and representation on the alliance's governing board, to be formed in the future.
“I was aware of this being planned, and was a big fan of it, but we were not part of the development process until we were presented with the agreement,” Mohammadkhani said. “There were a couple of points I had about how we weather the future, and I was hoping we would have a chance to tweak the agreement. But that opportunity did not present itself.”
Both Byrne and Mohammadkhani said they respect the board's collective vote in favor of joining, and will not stand in the way of its development. The Daily Citizen has reached out to Makoski for comment, and will update this report if he responds.
The split on the health care alliance vote mirrors board factions that have emerged both before and after the April election, which saw Brunner elected and Thomas-Tate re-elected to a three-year term. For example, the board split 4-3 on election of Kincaid as board president. In March, when Denise Fredrick was still board president, the board split 4-3 on a vote to remove Mohammadkhani as vice president following a dispute over her actions during a student session dedicated to mental health.
Because CoxHealth is not a governmental entity, votes from its 25-member board of directors are not subject to the Sunshine Law.
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Cox, SPS, OTC and MSU unveil unique alliance with pipeline for students seeking health care careers
Called the Alliance for Health Care Education, the group aims to help southwest Missouri students move through a common system as they pursue medical careers.
Some agreement details outlined
While other details will be addressed in the future, members of the newly formed Alliance for Health Care Education have a basic structure in place for how it will conduct its business.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony Tuesday by each group’s top official — SPS Superintendent Grenita Lathan, OTC Chancellor Hal Higdon, MSU President Clif Smart and CoxHealth President Max Buetow.
During the ceremony, the four explained the basic structure of their agreement:
- SPS will expand its relationship with OTC, allowing students to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree or appropriate credentials.
- OTC will expand its programs to fill positions that require an associate degree or certification. That includes taking on Cox College’s associate science in nursing program, as well as radiology and imaging.
- MSU will take on Cox College’s programs for a bachelor’s or master’s degree in nursing, as well as programs for occupational therapy and nutrition.
- Cox College will allow OTC and MSU to use its facilities, part of the Cox North Hospital campus along Jefferson and Robberson Avenues, near Division Street in the city’s near North Side.
According to a resolution discussed and voted upon by MSU’s Board of Governors during a July meeting, this agreement is good for five years with options to renew for additional five-year renewal terms.
The alliance will form a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, with its board members including the top executives of each party and at least one other community member. It intends to hire its own director and other employees as needed; the salaries for the employees of the nonprofit will be paid equally among alliance members.
MSU and OTC will receive all tuition fees for their respective programs, and will run those programs once current Cox College students finish their programs.
The alliance will lease the about 70,000 square feet and educational resources of Cox College, paying the lease to CoxHealth. Alliance members would pay a share of the lease proportional to their usage, and also would share costs for utilities, security and custodial services.
The cost for the lease is estimated to start at $300,000 a year until 2026, then begin depreciating to $200,000 in 2027, $100,000 from 2028 to 2030 and $50,000 in 2032. Those estimates do not account for any renovations or improvements made by the alliance.
The Daily Citizen has requested a copy of the agreement signed Tuesday by the four leaders, and will update this report as needed.
SPS, OTC to expand program
The alliance’s goal is to develop a pool of talent for an industry in desperate need of employees. It plans to do so by making the process of getting appropriate certification or degrees easier and more affordable, and by merging its educational resources to upgrade its program offerings.
Organizers hope to expand its mission to other hospitals, colleges and school districts in the future.
Despite the split show of support from Springfield school board members, the district is now working full speed on its end of the agreement, Kincaid said. They will create an SPS Choice program for health care fields, with a goal to enroll 100 students for the fall 2024 semester.
“It is no secret that the health care industry is hurting for employees,” Kincaid said. “When you look at our Success-ready Students part of our plan, we talk about plans for post-graduation opportunities. For those interested in the health care field, it is huge to provide them with a degree.”
This report was updated at 2:30 p.m. to include comments from Board of Education member Maryam Mohammadkhani.
