For the last seven months, Montgomery County seniors Connor Bethel and Rachel Harris worked as student representatives of the R-II School District Board, sharing news about their school every month.

At the school board meeting on April 9 at the Montgomery County Middle School, Bethel and Harris received recognition from R-II Superintendent Dr. Brian White. They each got plaques with their names engraved on them.

“It was unexpected,” Harris said.

School board meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month. Every meeting starts off with a report from the student board members.

Bethel and Harris discuss information on the activities that are going on at MCHS as well as the groups to the school board, which had a reorganization of officers for the 2026-27 school year at the April 9 meeting.

“The board members really want to know actually what’s happening from a student’s perspective,” Harris said. “If I were in their place, I would, too.”

The R-II School Board includes Mike Deering, Karl Finke, Micah Hans, Kasey Pottebaum, Karl Queathem, Kali Salazar and Maria Stille.

Queathem was voted the board president, Finke was reelected vice-president, Hans was voted secretary and Salazar retained her seat as treasurer. Queathem and Finke have been on the school board since 2011. Hans and Salazar joined the board in 2022.

Stille, who was the previous president, has been on the school board since August 2000. Queathem was the previous secretary.

Also, Finke was voted as a delegate of the Missouri School Boards Association, while Deering was named the alternate. Finke, Deering and Pottebaum were voted as members of the policy committee.

Queathem, Finke and Stille were reelected as board members. A swear-in ceremony was held at the meeting.
Bethel and Harris were selected as student representatives by MCHS Principal Brian Ernst during the first week of school in August.

“I really enjoyed it,” Harris said. “I think it was a great opportunity to really learn about what all goes on behind the scenes at school and how it all runs and who’s in charge. It’s interesting to learn about that kind of stuff.”

Bethel said he enjoyed making his presentation to the board members every month.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “It’s going out of your comfort zone to be something you never knew that you could be. As a person who struggles with public speaking, it definitely helped me 100 percent.”

Next year, Bethel plans to attend State Technical College in Linn and major in cybersecurity network support, while Harris will go to Central Methodist University and major in music education.

Also at the board meeting, Montgomery City Elementary spelling bee and math contest participants were recognized. The spelling bee participants in attendance were fifth-grader Ruth Worley, fourth-grader Samantha Bukovac, third-grader Lillian Hamilton, second-graders Jacob Johnson and Everett Prior and first-graders Silas Rajchart and Scarlett Wiggins. Fourth-grader Alva Powell and third-graders Annalee Daniels and Thomas Panage were the math participants who attended.

MCE will have two participants from each grade level who will compete in the Rennick Spelling Bee. The school also has six students who qualified for the state math competition, which is scheduled for May 9.