By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post
Rebuilding trust within the Hays USD 489 school district and looking to the future were topics discussed at Tuesday’s special meeting between administrators and board of education members.
As principals went around the room presenting building reports and operational plans after staff reductions, all talked about how difficult the year has been for their staff, a year that began with the hiring of Superintendent Dean Katt.
Hays High School Principal Marty Straub remarked how after he got to know Katt, he would go back and tell his staff, “He’s a good dude.”
But the discovery of a $1 million-plus budget shortfall and funding cuts by the Legislature resulted in what board member Josh Waddell described as constant “water-cooler” talk. The resulting proposed budget cuts created uneasiness among the staff throughout the year, he said.
Despite the challenges, principals remarked on how proud they were of their staff. Through it all, they said, teachers managed to stay positive and put their students’ education first.
However, new board member Susan Rankin said she has heard trust is an issue.
“When I hear about mistrust from teachers for the board, we have to make sure between principals and staff that trust (for the board) is there,” she said.
“I don’t want anyone to be afraid to come to us for anything,” board member Marty Patterson added.
President Greg Schwartz said he hopes to never see staff cuts before the board again.
“My goal is personnel transactions are not on our agenda anymore,” Schwartz said. “I don’t want to be part of your teacher evaluations. I want it to be the superintendent’s decision. It is his job to fight for you all.
“In the past, a lot of was happening within the centralized staff (at Rockwell). As me move forward, our goal is to have a more organized approach,” said Schwartz, referring to past practice of relying upon one person to tell the board the budget was balanced.
“We need to heal. We have 2,800 hundred students, 600 staff members,” said Mark Hauptman, assistant superintendent for special services. “We need to move forward. … We need action. That is what helps healing.”
Principals told the board the top two priorities are reducing classroom size among the elementary grades and building a technology infrastructure that works — so teachers and students do not waste valuable classroom time logging in to a system only to be kicked out.
Board members have said if the upcoming LOB election is passed in June, an extra $200,000 would be added to the budget to bring back teachers in the elementary grades.
Hays Middle School Principal Craig Pallister feels positive the LOB will pass.
“Our teachers are really mad at our government and Legislature,” he said, referring to state funding cuts to education beginning 10 years ago.
Board member Josh Waddell said board members received input from teaching staff on how principals handled the process throughout the year.
“While things may have been tense, still teachers had a lot of good things to say about you all,” he said, nodding to the principals seated at the the table.
In the end, principals said if the LOB is not passed, teachers will do what needs to done to ensure students do not suffer.
“Teachers will adapt and do more with less,” said HMS Assistant Principal Shannon Demel.
O’Loughlin Elementary principal Nancy Harmon agreed.
“It will take a toll though, and I worry about my teachers because it will be more difficult,” she said, “but they will do what needs to be done because they care so much about their students.”