By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board will hear a report on a recently completed classified staff wage study by the Docking Institute at Fort Hays State University at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Rockwell Administration Center.
The study found several classes of USD 489 employees are not making as much as their peers.
These included building secretaries, office assistants and clerical workers, and information technology assistants.
The starting wage for a USD 489 school secretary is $9.62 per hour, but the average starting wage for other Hays’ employers is $12.78. Comparable school districts pay an average of $11.08 and comparable cities pay an average starting wage of $13.45.
Office assistants and clerical workers start at $10.06 at USD 489, which is comparable to other school districts, but is more than $2 below the average in the Hays community and $4 below the average in comparable cities.
IT assistants start at $10.95 per hour in the USD 489 district, but the average at peer districts is $13.38 and $11.87 in the city of Hays.
The board has discussed creating a new pay scale for classified employees, but was waiting on the release of this study.
Budget
The board will have a budget hearing at 6:25 p.m. Monday at Rockwell so it can reauthorize its FY19 budget. The district received more special education funding than it anticipated and needs to reauthorize its budget in order to be able to spend all the money it has been allocated.
This will not affect local taxes.
Oak Park Complex
The board will consider several items regarding the Oak Park Medical Complex renovation.
Matt Gillam, vice president of Development for Overland Property Group, will provide an update to the board regarding the sale of the Washington school. The district has a contract with Overland Property to buy the property. Early Childhood Connections is moving out of Washington and will be located in the renovated Oak Park Complex.
Representatives from Nabholz Construction and Paul-Wertenberger Construction will provide an update to the board regarding the ongoing complex renovations.
Superintendent John Thissen will review the suggestions submitted by the community for the renaming of the Oak Park Medical Complex. Look to the right to see a list of proposed names.
The board will also vote on dissolving the Oak Park Condominium Association. The association is no longer needed because USD 489 owns all of the property covered by the association.
In other business, the board will:
- Vote on workers compensation/cyber liability/property casualty insurance renewal
- Hear a SPED district assessment
- Vote on the renewal of the district’s membership with the Kansas Association of School Boards and the KASB Legal Assistance Fund.
- Vote on the approval of the 2019-2020 student fees
- Review student handbook revisions
- Review the 2019-2020 board attorney contract
- Review legally required changes to board policy