By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
At Monday night’s meeting, the Hays USD 489 Board of Education decided to push forward with the bond election and now will work to pin down specifics in a timeline for an election that is currently slated for June.
“Any time you select has pro and cons,” said Zach Snethen, project manager at HTK Architects, but recommended keeping a June election goal.
The sales tax would help offset a proposed $94 million bond issues for building upgrades, reducing the amount of the total costs put on property tax bills.
The district moved back its initial timelines of April and May elections after the Hays city commissioners declined to put a sales tax question on a special election ballot. Since then, the district has worked to collect a required 10 percent of registered voters to sign a petition that would allow for the question to be presented to voters.
The goal set by the district to collect those signatures was Feb. 19, but Superintendent Dean Katt said that deadline could be stretched for a few days.
The board shared the belief that the focus on the sales tax question had taken away from the original message of the bond.
“The real issue is the bond issue,” said Paul Adams, board member. “It’s the bond issue we care about.”
Board Member Sarah Rankin agreed the sales tax question was a complication and may be taking away from the important message of the bond.
Other actions taken by the Board:
The Board approved the HRC lease agreement, an action that is simply a pass-through for the district and has no effect on USD 489.
The Board approved a $50 reduction for driver education fee, an adjustment that was made due to lower gas prices.
The Board approved bidding process policy revisions.
The Board approved a change to Physical Education requirement for Hays High students. Only one credit will be required for graduation, the same as Kansas requirements.
The Board approved board term change due to a change in the Kansas election schedule.
The Board approved a financing bid for the HVAC financing from Commerce Bank.
The Board approved the payment to the architects for the HVAC system.
The Board approved the contract for Mark Hauptman, assistant superintendent for special services.