Hays school district is expecting to be down 30 students in fall

By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

The Hays School District will be down about 30 students for the 2018-19 school year, according to current projections.

Assistant Superintendent Shanna Dinkel gave a report on the projections at the school board meeting on Monday.

A report in the board packet estimated total K-12 enrollment at 2,912. Kindergarten through fifth-grade enrollment is estimated at 1,409. Hays Middle School enrollment is projected at 674, and Hays High enrollment is projected to be 829 students.

Both the HHS and HMS are projected to have slightly higher enrollments with enrollment across the elementary schools projected to be down slightly.

Hays enrollment was 3,047 students on its official count day on Sept. 20, 2017. Hays enrollment was 3,070 in 2016. However, Dinkel noted the Sept. 20 numbers included students in special education who receive services from USD 489, but may not attend USD 489 schools.

Enrollment numbers are important because they become part of the formula the state uses for funding.

Online enrollment for district started last week. You can access a link to enroll online on the district website at http://www.usd489.com/?p=5559

Dinkel estimated about 22 percent of students have already been enrolled online, and the district hopes more parents take advantage of this option between now and Aug. 1 and 2 when in-person enrollment will take place at the HHS cafeteria.

Board member Paul Adams requested a comparison of enrollment from previous years, and board member Greg Schwartz asked Dinkel if she could present a projection for enrollment for up to five years into the future.

Special Education

New special education director Chris Hipp gave a report to the board on several aspects of the special education cooperative.

The district will use waivers and a new apprenticeship program to fill several special education spots in the district. The waiver program allows licensed teachers who are pursing their master’s degrees in special education to teach special education. The apprenticeship program allows someone with a bachelor’s degree, who has worked at least a year as a para and who enrolls in master’s program to teach special education.

To help these new special education teachers, the coop has developed a new teacher academy. Items that will be addressed will be socialized instruction, progress monitoring and writing quality individualized education programs, which are also known as IEPs. The district is applying for a grant to help pay for the academy training.

Wilson playground

The board approved the purchase of new playground equipment for Wilson Elementary School.

Wilson has received a $5,000 grant toward the purchase of playground equipment from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. The total cost of the equipment will be about $78,000. No district funds will be used to purchase the equipment. The Wilson Home and School Association has been saving for years toward the replacement of the aging equipment and will cover the rest of the cost.

Schwartz said he was not against the purchase of the equipment, but voted against the purchase saying he did not feel there was enough time to consider the item. This was the first meeting the item appeared on the agenda.

In other business, the board:

Heard a report on board goals. A list of completed and ongoing projects that are working toward the board’s goals are available on the district website. The board will meet on Aug. 8 to review its goals and consider new goals.

Approved Kansas Association of School Boards policy recommendations

Heard a report on the annual Lewis Field agreement with Fort Hays State University. FHSU has proposed a $100 per event increase in the fee from $2,400 per use to $2,500 per use.