By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

In a light meeting, the Hays USD 489 Board of Education heard reports Monday night on budget and facilities maintenance that could be supported by a bond issue in the future.

Before getting into the nuts and bolts of the budget, the superintendent’s report addressed initial problems with elementary school enrollment last week, saying it was progressing well.

“I thought it would be a bigger mess than it was,” said superintendent Dean Katt.

Online enrollment would not let users log on during the first day of enrollment, but a workaround was quickly identified.

Users were enrolling online by the afternoon of the first day and enrollment was available at the schools almost immediately.

Shanna Dinkel, director of curriculum,  addressed the same issue late in the meeting, noting parents with children to be processed in the middle school and high school enrollment should have already received a code to allow access to the online system.

In the first matter of new business, board members heard a budget report from Tracy Kaiser, executive director of finance and support services.

The board addressed a few specific budget lines within the document that seemed substantially higher than previous years.

When questioned, Kaiser explained due to the block funding system established by Kansas for this upcoming year and the way funding is now allocated to the district made those numbers look higher than the most likely will be.

The budget reflects the amount the district has the budget authority to spend, but will likely spending will be in line with previous years, saving a district emergency, such as damage from a severe storm or other major catastrophe.

The budget as outlined ”in some way (are) just keeping us on an even keel,” board member Paul Adams noted.

The board approved the budget hearing, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 17 in the Toepfer Board Room in the Rockwell Administration Center, 323 W. 12th. Interested parties can view the budget information at the Rockwell Center prior to the meeting.

The board also heard initial reports from HTK Architects on a bond issue proposed to fund repair and upgrade of facilities throughout the district.

The report broke down each district facility and by needs and wants, but the process is far from a complete.

The board will continue to look at the plan and adjust as needed going forward.

In the meantime, with the closure and repurposing of Washington Elementary, the plan will need changed before HTK can dial in the expected cost of the complete project, which will keep facilities in the district current for an expected 20 some years.

HTK representative Zach Snethen said the update was intended to keep the board informed of the state of the facilities as they continue looking forward.

While there are some issues plaguing the district currently, like a lack of sufficient space in storm shelters, an auditorium that often overflows, and equipment that has hit the limit of its effective life – causing repairs to be difficult – the bond issue that would potentially fund the maintenance is likely quite a way down the road.

The current plan would include over $100 million in needed maintenance.

“Yeah, it’s a big number,” Snethen said.

The budget can be found here.

COLBY — Residents in or near northwest Kansas are encouraged to register now to reserve a space at the upcoming “Ideas Into Action” workshop, a free event happening in Colby on Wednesday, August 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Colby Community Building.

Organized by the Kansas Rural Center, this non-partisan workshop aims to inspire and activate public action around issues that matter to the Kansans who attend. Lunch is included and will be provided by the High Plains Food Co-op.

A detailed agenda and registration information for this event is available HERE.

This Colby event is one of four workshops in KRC’s Feeding Kansas: Ideas Into Action series. Each workshop will feature presentations and an opportunity to dialogue with guest speakers working on the frontlines of positive change, for the good of the Kansas food system. After a wholesome lunch, several concurrent sessions will provide participants with strategic advocacy tools and tactics for raising awareness and creating change around the issues that matter to them.

Morning presentations and panelists include:
• Nadine Sigel, Community Vitality Specialist at K-State Extension, and Chris Sramek, agricultural meteorologist and a V.P. with the High Plains Food Coop – to provide an overview of the healthy food access environment in northwest Kansas and share stories and lessons learned from their work pioneering the development of a multi-county food and wellness council;
• Sena. Tom Hawk, Colby native and lead author of the Local Food and Farm Task Force Bill – to discuss the Task Force and how the public can get involved in shaping its recommendations to the Legislature;
• Cole Cottin, Kansas Rural Center – to discuss the goals outlined in KRC’s Feeding Kansas report and how participants can help make those goals a reality this year, and beyond. A summary of the report will be provided.

The full report can be found at: kansasruralcenter.org/Feeding-Kansas.

Afternoon concurrent sessions include:
• How to Have a Voice in Politics: Leveraging Local Coalitions to Bring about Change – Missty Lechner of the Kansas Alliance for Wellness will share information on what it takes to pull together a task force or council to empower community members to shape local policy. Participants will then be supported by Missty, KRC staff, and others in the room, as they brainstorm how to cultivate or strengthen coalitions in their own unique location and situation.
Strategic Communication with Decision-Makers – Participants will learn to identify which decision-maker(s) have power to change a particular issue, and how best to approach the target decision-maker(s) to persuade them towards their cause. Senator Tom Hawk and County Commissioner Paul Steel will be present to share their perspective as insiders. (Other policymakers are encouraged to attend!)
• Communicating with the Media – Editor Kevin Bottrell, Goodland Star News, will guide participants through major points of communicating with reporters so that the intended message comes across clearly. Participants will receive information on how to get the media to cover an important issue or event, tips for writing an impactful “op-ed”, and more.

Other “Ideas Into Action” workshops being held across Kansas this year include:
• Dodge City – August 13 at the Western State Bank Expo Center,
• El Dorado – September 23 at the El Dorado Civic Center, and
• Manhattan – September 24 at the Manhattan Public Library.

Questions about KRC’s “Ideas Into Action” workshop series can be directed towards Natalie Fullerton, KRC Program Director, at [email protected] or (866) 579-5469.

The mission of KRC, founded in 1979, is to promote the long-term health of the land and its people through community-based research, education, and advocacy that advances an economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially just food and farming system in Kansas. For more information, visit kansasruralcenter.org.