By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays school board will discuss long-range facilities planning at its meeting Monday.
Members of the board said at their last meeting having a long-range facilities plan was important in creating a possible new bond issue to bring before voters.
Superintendent John Thissen said at that meeting the district has at least two buildings that are 90 years old that need to either be replaced or hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to upgrade essential systems, such as heating and cooling, and plumbing.
In addition, the buildings need security upgrades and are not handicap accessible.
Two USD 489 bond issues have failed in the last two years — a $94 million bond issue in 2016 and a $78.5 million bond issue in November.
The board has discussed the need to propose a bond that would cost taxpayers less, but have not come to a decision on what might be in a next bond issue or who would decide what projects would be in a third bond attempt.
HHS HVAC
The district will again consider a $782,000 project to improve the HVAC system at Hays High School. A vote on the issue was stalled at the last board meeting after board member Greg Schwartz asked to see numbers that compared what was spent on a similar project at Hays Middle School in 2015.
Schwartz has been critical of the board’s decision to hire a construction manager at risk for the project instead of using a traditional bidding process for the project. Schwartz was appointed to the board after the construction manager at risk was hired.
A report to be discussed at the meeting Monday shows the 2015 cost of the HMS project was $17.29 per square foot. This does not factor in inflation. The HHS project would cost $12.75 per square foot, and would be paid for with capital outlay funds.
This would be the first phase of a multi-phase project to improve the HVAC system at the high school. The whole project is estimated to cost $4 million to $5 million.
Student Technology
The board will hear a first report from the district’s Technology Committee on replacement of student computers.
The committee is recommending a schedule that will stagger the replace of devices over a period of four years to help keep the budget more stable. In the 2018-19 school year, the cost of the replacement schedule would be about $258,000.
The board will also:
• Hear a report from the city of Hays on tax implications of the Hilton hotel project.
• Discuss the renewal of contracts for the superintendent, assistant superintendent and director of special education.
• Hear a report on the district’s Kansas Education Systems Accreditation.