St. Charles County

Eligible residents can receive a $50,000 lump sum if they got sick after living, working or going to school near nuclear radiation in 21 Missouri ZIP codes added to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act by Congress over the summer.

The Missouri Equity Education Partnership, the St. Charles County NAACP and other groups say the Francis Howell School District needs to address a longstanding pattern of racism and enact new policies and procedures.

After working to acquire schools in Missouri for the last 3½ years, Inspire Schools officially rebranded seven early childcare schools in St. Charles County and one in Troy in August, bringing a new early childhood curriculum with it.

Interim Superintendent Mark Delaney said in an email to families on Wednesday that school officials conducted an investigation in partnership with police and found evidence that a district custodian is responsible for the graffiti.

Francis Howell High School Principal Dave Wedlock said in an email to families that the graffiti found in school restrooms was quickly removed after a student reported it to administrators.

Once the group receives its petition documents, it has six months to collect about 10,000 signatures for the recall to get on a ballot.

The announcement comes after the killing of Charlie Kirk, the leader of the right-wing group that is popular across the nation's college campuses.

The district said it’s down more than 10% of its driving workforce, which includes 31 vacant full-time positions.

A spokesperson for Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick’s office confirmed the office will be reviewing the nearly $230,000 payout to former Superintendent Mike Dominguez, who resigned from the district weeks before the start of the school year.

Efforts are underway to make it easier to access the 24-page application online. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was expanded earlier this summer to include ZIP codes in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County.