By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 Board of Education is set to vote on buying new laptops for Hays High School students at its meeting Monday.
The students are using Surface 3 tablets. These devices are no longer serviced by Microsoft and are about to be out of warranty.
The district technology committee is recommending the purchase of Dell Latitude 3189 at a cost of $335,750. The district believes it can recoup some of the cost by selling the Surfaces.
The technology committee has developed a multi-year technology replacement plan that would spread the cost of replacing technology over four years and make budgeting for technology easier.
Some board members have argued the district should purchase Chromebooks, because they are cheaper. However, members of the technology committee have argued the Chromebooks do not meet the needs of the students and teachers.
Members of the board have further questioned the necessity of the district’s one-to-one technology policy, which provides a computer device for each student. They argue other capital needs may be more important at this time than the technology plan.
PEERA
The board will consider a resolution that would end its negotiations with its custodians union, SEIU.
The resolution would end the district’s participation in Kansas Public Employer-Employee Relations Act. At the end of 2017, the city and county both decided to stop participating in PEERA, but officials at the district said their decision to consider the change was independent of the city’s and county’s.
USD 489 is one of the few districts in the state that still participates in PEERA. The leader of SEIU has expressed the desire for the district to continue to negotiate with the union.
If the district opts out of PEERA, it would continue to negotiate with the teachers union.
Facilities
The district is set to have some special visitors at its meeting tonight. Representatives from DLR, the district’s architect, Nabholz, its construction manager, and the Vision Team will provide feedback to the board regarding the Nov. 7 failed bond election as the district continues to talk about its facilities plan.
The board will also receive a report on the district’s five-year capital improvement plan.
In a separate item, the district is set to vote on a $189,204 bid for repairs to the Hays Middle School roof.
Parent notification
At its last meeting, the board directed the administration to make changes to its notification policy to specifically state that in any instance that affected student safety, parents and guardians would be notified. The issue stems from an incident in February during which a student was removed from the high school for an alleged threat against the school. The public was not notified until five days later.
Paraprofessional pay
The board is also set to discuss at $2 per hour raise for paraprofessionals. According to staff, the raise is needed to increase the pool of qualified applicants for para positions.