Submitted by Hays USD 489

As USD 489 continues to plan for the 2014-15 school year, the administration would like to address questions and concerns parents may have. Difficult decisions were recently made to meet budget reductions as the district plans for the next school year. These reductions have affected staffing in some areas, including classroom and specials (art, music and library) teachers.

During the decision making process for reducing teachers, the choices made were based on grade levels and sections of subjects with lower enrollments, district-wide. Some class sizes will increase, but, on average, elementary classes will have 22 students, middle school classes will have 25 students, and high school classes will have 23 students.

Parents of elementary students, who will be directly impacted by larger class sizes next year, are being notified by their schools over the next week.

USD 489 would like to assure parents that their student’s time spent with specials teachers, at the elementary level, will not be reduced. Elementary students will still receive the same amount of quality time enriching their educational experience with art, music, and library.

At present, USD 489 has not eliminated any programs, but cutbacks in some programs will be experienced. The district’s focus still remains to provide the best education for our students, even during these challenging times for education in Kansas.

• Hays Unified School District 489

FHSU University Relations

Joe and June Nold, originally from Abilene and Lenora, respectively, have established the Joe and June Nold Scholarship Fund to provide assistance to Dickinson County students who attend Fort Hays State University.

“With assistance from the FHSU Foundation, the Nolds are giving $600,000 in a trust to endow their scholarship fund through the Community Foundation of Dickinson County,” Dr. Edward H. Hammond, FHSU president, said during a news conference Thursday. “This funding will continue beyond their lives, guaranteeing a quality education for Dickinson County’s youth for many years to come.”

Coincidentally, the Nolds’ gift comes in the wake of Fort Hays State University’s Power of One scholarship campaign, which has reached 90 percent of its ambitious $8-million goal with $7.5 million receipted.

“The number one need for FHSU students is scholarship dollars,” Hammond said. “Making the $8 million goal a reality will be possible with gifts like the one from Joe and June Nold, for which the university and the Foundation are extremely thankful.”

The Nolds met at FHSU, where Joe received a degree in Science and Industrial Arts in 1962.

While thanking the couple for their  donation, Hammond shared Joe Nold’s FHSU academic record:

The Nolds married and moved to San Diego, where June finished her degree of Arts in Liberal Studies and went on to teach in California. She later began teaching in Kansas while Joe rose to the position of executive vice president at the Coleman Company in Wichita.

After retiring, Joe and June relocated to Joe’s hometown of Abilene, where they give back generously to their community. June served as the president of the Arts Council of Dickinson County and Joe served as a county commissioner. They were among the founders of the Community Foundation of Dickinson County, and Joe served as chairman of its board of directors.

Joe Nold introduced his wife at the news conference and joked that she was “petrified” about the stories he might tell from when they were FHSU students. He said a lot of great things happened to both of them at FHSU, and the No. 1 best for him was June.

Nold shared that they had come back to campus in 2012 for their 50th reunion, and they quickly discovered that something special was going on at FHSU. He said they wanted to be part of it, and decided that endowing scholarships was what they would do.

He said he learned during his career in industry that “a product doesn’t come out the back unless raw materials come in the front door. The product in this instance is world-ready college graduates.” After having lunch with the first four scholarship recipients, Nold said he hoped the future recipients would be of the same caliber.

“This scholarship support from the Nolds will impact students at FHSU in perpetuity,” said Tim Chapman, president and CEO of the FHSU Foundation. “What a great legacy for them. A life journey that began at FHSU now serves as an example of how one life can make a huge difference in the lives of others.”

The Joe and June Nold Scholarships are fully renewable and are awarded to four incoming Dickinson County freshmen in any area of study each year. With new freshmen added each year, the Nolds eventually will be supporting four freshmen, four sophomores, four juniors and four seniors, so within four years the scholarships will be awarded in the total amount of $30,000 per year.

Chapman introduced the recipients of the Joe and June Nold Scholarships for the 2013-2014 academic year: Alexis Boatright, Solomon High School; Kiley Crider, Abilene High School; Makenzie Dornbusch, Herington High School; and Ashten Slater, Herington High School.

“I cannot express how grateful I was and still am for this scholarship,” Slater said at the news conference. “It took a great deal of stress off of not only me but my parents, too. I knew the second I met Joe and June that they are great people, and I thank them so much for their help through this scholarship.”

The other three students sent statements of appreciation to the Nolds:

• “Joe and June Nold’s generous contribution to these several Fort Hays State students is absolutely amazing, and I am extremely thankful that I am one of them. Attending college is expensive, and this scholarship has taken away some of the burden. It is very impressive that these scholarships will be helping FHSU students from Dickinson County forever! One day, I hope to do the same for young students because I realize how much it can help them.” — Kiley Crider

• “The Joe and June Nold Scholarship has helped me out a lot. Coming from a single-parent home it is hard not being able to afford everything, so being able to earn this scholarship meant so much to me. I appreciate their thoughtfulness for handing all of the scholarships out because every little bit that you receive helps out so much.” — Makenzie Dornbusch

• “The Nold scholarship has helped me out tremendously and it means everything in the world to me. I am honestly grateful that I was selected to receive the scholarship. Thank you for the great opportunity.” — Alexis Boatright

The Fort Hays State University Foundation is an independent, non-profit corporation designated by the state of Kansas to receive gifts on behalf of the university. Anyone interested in contributing to Fort Hays State may contact the FHSU Foundation at 785-628-5620 or visit the website at https://foundation.fhsu.edu.

To support the Joe and June Nold Scholarship fund please visit https://secure.fhsu.edu/foundation and type “Joe and June Nold Scholarship” in the Area of Designation box.

Officials are in the final stages of readying area pools for the fast-approaching summer season.

Hays Aquatic Park plans to open May 24 for Memorial Day weekend, said Roger Bixenman, Hays Recreation Commission superintendent. Wilson Pool will open a week later on May 31.

Grant Lacy, aquatics park director, said HRC and city of Hays Parks Department crews have everything ready to go for the upcoming season, a process that begins in earnest in March of each year. The lap pool has been painted and wood decking was restained, but Lacy said the HAP required no significant repairs in the off-season.

In light of the city’s current water warning, Lacy said the pool staff will “conserve as best we can.”

He said irrigation of the grass and landscaping at the facility was kept to a minimum last season, a practice that will be continued this year.

Bixenman said the city’s pools are a significant quality-of-life benefit Hays offers.

“We feel like it’s important for the community,” he said. “We’re planning on operating just as we have in the past unless we’re ever told different by the city.”

Lacy said approximately 85 people are employed during the season at the pools, as lifeguards, admissions clerks, concession stand workers and maintenance workers.

“And anywhere from 50,000 to 60,000 people a year come through our gates,” he said. “It’s an opportunity we are glad we are a part of. We can’t wait to get this next season underway … Just hope for some rain.”

Hays Aquatic Park hours will be noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. Wilson is open 1 to 5 p.m. daily.

Season pool passes go on sale Monday, at a discounted early bird price of $35 per person. After three weeks, that price will increase to $40 per person. Children 2 and younger are admitted free.

The city’s water warning, declared earlier this year, limits outside watering, but does not call for changes at pools — either public or private. That could change should the city move to the final step in its drought response plan — a water emergency.

In a water emergency, municipal pools would not be filled, and regulations also would be put into place barring private pools from being filled, as well.