Milk, a relatively small part of a student’s day, was a big topic of discussion at Monday night’s USD 489 Board of Education meeting.
“We basically have three options,” said Jessica Younker, director of nutrition services.
Bids came back from two vendors, but in a surprise move one of the vendors put in a fixed price bid — usually only escalator bids, which change the price to the district with changes in milk prices — are received.
But with the options from the two companies, only one was viable.
“When it really comes down to it, vendor B, they did not meet our specifications for delivery. We specified three times a week based on our refrigeration space, and they indicated they would only deliver twice a week.”
With vendor B being knocked out of the running, vendor A — the company that put in both the fixed price and escalator bids — was the only option.
The board voted unanimously to allow Highland Dairy to continue providing milk to the district, but before that vote was cast, the board was not yet done analyzing nutrition costs in the district.
After questioning about food prices from board member Josh Waddell, Younker said poultry and egg prices are up, but other food costs are down.
“We’ll be looking at our menus and adjusting as needed,” Younker said. “Our breakfast menu especially.”
She noted surveys have been instrumental in making some changes, but some of those changes made might be changed back in order to keep food costs down.
Waddell also questioned the how the district was handling federal government mandates on school food programs.
“We still hear a lot of families look down upon the new mandates from the federal government with our lunch programs and food programs in general,” he said, asking Younker if everything is “where it should be.”
“Our participation is over 80 percent,” Younker said, noting other schools are closer to 60 percent. SHe said it is an indication students are happy with menu options.
“We are doing fairly well compared to other districts,” she said, adding “we are looking to keep our students and staff happy.”
Waddell questioned further wondering how much latitude she had in making program changes.
“The industry is catching up to the regulations, so there’s definitely better things coming out.”
During Monday’s Hays USD 489 Board of Education meeting, the board heard information about financial state of the district and, despite the Kansas Legislature having set up a block grant funding formula for this year — and a subsequent court ruling striking down that formula — the district is working to ensure the budget stays in line with expected revenue. State funding losses, lower tax valuations and decreased enrollment remain challenges, staff told the board.
“We do have $225,000 less budgeted for expenses this year, so we are looking at already holding that over,” said Tracy Kaiser, executive director of finance and support, adding if there are no more legislative changes, the district might be able to save even more.
“That’s our plan right now is we reduce our expenses by the $225,000,” she said.
That measure is anticipated to balance the expected loss of revenue, with the largest loss coming from lower state valuations.
State valuations in Ellis County are down by 3.8 percent, which equates to about $94,000 less from the mill levy for capital outlays. While this amount is a financial blow to the district, it pales to cuts to other districts through the state.
Some school districts lost up to 30 percent from their budgets due to lower valuations, according to Superintendent Dean Katt.
The second largest portion of lower revenue coming into USD 489 stems from the state’s school funding plan.
“We are receiving 99.6 percent for our general fund state aid, but the 0.4 percent, including the block grant, is going into the extraordinary needs fund, so that 0.4 percent will be up to the governor and their committees discretion on who’s having enough changes in their valuations or student population, or whatever, to divvy that out,” Kiser said. “Our portion is just over $54,000 that will be going into that extraordinary needs fund, so our budget has been reduced, our state aid, has been reduced by that amount.”
The smallest cut the district will face this year is lower revenue from students totaling around $50,000.
“We still have less budget expenditures than (lower revenue) so I still anticipate we’ll be able to stay well within our budget, even with those losses,” Kiser said.
The district can also maintain its $335,000 contingency fund this year with the budget cuts.
Katt added to the budget information that he felt the mill levy would likely stay the same and that the district’s fiscal situation makes it much better prepared than many districts in Kansas if state education funding changes next year.
The Hays USD 489 Board of Education heard a review of district technology implementation at Monday’s night meeting, finding progress is proceeding through the summer — but much more still needs done.
The data presented at the meeting began with a survey from the spring 2015 semester, which evaluated categories of integration and use of technology in classrooms. The results began to highlight some of the areas needing addressed through the district, including increased training and upgraded systems.
“You’ll see a lot of our teachers are at a very foundational level,” said Marie Henderson, instructional tech specialist. Despite that low level of technological integration through the district, interest in better integration in the district does not appear to be a hard sell to teachers, staff told board members.
The teachers are “chomping at the bit” to get training, said Shanna Dinkel, director of curriculum. The initial goal was to train a small group at each school, but interest and participation has pushed training ahead of schedule.
While instructing teachers how to better use technology in the classroom is important, it is only a part of the larger implementation.
“We are still developing that professional learning plan,” Dinkel said. The plan will be molded to feedback from current training sessions.
There is an evaluation tied to every training session, “so that feedback is huge,” she said.
While the survey helps evaluate where the district can begin with implementation strategy, the type of survey used will limit its effectiveness.
“It’s basically to let them express where they are at with technology integration with technology in their classrooms,” Henderson said.
While the survey gave the board an overview of where the district is in terms of technology, it did not break down specific areas of implementation based on questions asked.
“Each question is informing the data on more than one category,” Henderson said. “I think we’re going to be able to show growth, but I don’t think we’ll have as much specificity as we wanted to have with this tool.”
In response to that, she is looking for other tools to help evaluate technology implementation in the district.
Overall, she noted teachers seemed excited to see what they can do with new technology as it becomes available as dated systems get replaced through the district.
The High Plains Music Camp at Fort Hays State University was in full swing last week, bringing in students, music instructors and clinicians to Hays from around the country — creating a unique musical event in northwest Kansas.
The event, aimed at providing world-class music instruction for middle and high school students, has been an annual tradition at FHSU since 1947, regularly bringing back FHSU alumni and FHSU students to assist with the camp along with guest clinicians. This year, the camp brought Maestro Theodore Kuchar, California, Orchestra Conductor; Gretchen Harrison, Kansas, Choral Specialist; Rodney Jones, New York, Jazz Guitarist; and Pete Zimmer, New York, Jazz Drummer.
Video by Ricky Kerr, Hays Post
On his second visit to Hays, Zimmer found a different experience working with the campers.
“I’ve been having a lot of fun working with the drummers and the jazz students,” Zimmer said, noting he also presented a workshop in 2009.
Even with the busy schedule of the camp, Zimmer said he found time to explore Hays.
“We’ve gone to Gella’s — great food and beverages,” he said, adding he had also stopped at local haunts Gutch’s and Whiskey Creek.
Along with the local dining, Zimmer felt the local landscape was interesting and very different from his current home.
“It’s really beautiful,” he said. “In New York, you don’t get to see the sky as much. It’s been cool at night and the clouds and everything are a different vibe from New York.”
Even though he currently resides in New York, he grew up in Wisconsin and said Hays “kind of feels like home.”
Many students echoed Zimmer’s enthusiasm for the camp and Hays.
“This is my fourth year,” said Allison Hall, high school junior. “It’s just so much fun, and it introduces me to new people and harder types of music.”
“I absolutely love all of the music that is played at all of the recitals,” she said. Hall was with a group of four that came from Dodge City to participate in the camp.
High school senior and trumpet player Rhiannon Mullins, Hoxie, also has been coming to the camp for four years and has aspirations of some day being a collegiate music instructor. But for now, she just enjoys the camp.
While she said “we’ve played a lot,” the camp also gave her the opportunity to have “a lot of fun” and “hang out with friends.”
One of the more interesting features of the camp is the number of students from the past who now work the camp as instructors or counselors.
Brianne Shores, a FHSU art major from Haven, had been a camper during her high schools years and felt the desire to be a counselor at the camp now that she is a FHSU student.
“It’s just a really great community. It’s really powerful and you learn a lot. Ever since I came here, I wanted to be part of the university,” she said.
The next meeting of the Hays USD 489 Board of Education will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Toepfer Board Room of the Rockwell Administration Center, 323 W. 12th.
The meeting is the second for the 2015-16 board.
The board will address several issues for the district, including the milk contract for the year, approve staff handbooks for the year and hear recommendations from Board President Lance Bickle on appointments to district committees.
The board will also vote on policy changes, recommended by the Kansas Association of School Boards.
For a full agenda and reports that will be presented at the meeting click here.
Traveling is not uncommon to attend the Ellis County Fair, but for one participant, the trip was a bit further than normal – over 4,000 miles – but it would be hard to guess that she hails from so far away, as she almost seems at home here in Ellis County.
Anne Dahle is visting Hays from Norway, coming on a four-week exchange program with 4-H.
“Every second year, Norway sends kids to the States. Next year, America sends kids to Norway,“ Dahle said.
Anne Dahle, right
This year, 29 Norwegians are spread across eight States — 12 are in Kansas and that’s the program’s biggest group this year.
While Dahle came to Hays to experience American culture, it was not her first visit to the U.S.
“I was in North Carolina the first time, so it’s a bit different from Hays, Kansas. It’s warm, but it’s nice. It’s a little bit more flat than I’m used to,” Dahle said.
She considered the timing of her visit perfect, as she was able to experience the fair and explore the differences between a traditional Norwegian fair and here.
“I was really lucky that I could come to fair week,” she said. “The fair is really nice. It’s very different from what we do in Norway in 4-H, so it’s really cool to get to see how you do it.”
Visitors from the U.S. who would go to a fair in Norway might not even recognize their events as fairs at all.
“We don’t call it a fair. It’s more like a fall fest,” she said. “We only have one night where we make stands. Every member has a stand and shows the community what we have done through the year. So it’s sort of the same idea, but it’s shorter. We have a big stage and everyone performs and stuff. It’s a little bit of the same, but in a shorter interval.”
In Norway, the fair would not feature a carnival or concerts like in the U.S., and members are much more involved in planning and running the fair than here, she added.
“It’s the kids that run everything. We only have advisers,” she said “One adviser per club. The kids (are) on the boards, and the kids decide what to do.”
Dahle’s experience isn’t unique. 4-H regularly allows younger people to travel across the globe allowing cultural exchanges. With this being her second trip, she traveled as a sponsor, allowing her to interact with other exchange students during her trip.
“We are the first group of international students that come to the States. There are people from Finland and Costa Rica — everywhere really,” adding she also knows of a large contingent from Japan that comes yearly.
Cultural benefits extend both ways from the exchange program. Locals get to meet people from international locals and the participants get to experience local American culture.
“We can apply to be a participant. I thought it would be really nice to see new places and meet new people and just learn about the American culture and also language,” she said. “In just four weeks, you get to do more than just touristy stuff. You live with the host family, and they show you around and get the normal life.”
As part of the exchange, host families are required to have children close in age to the participant, allowing cultural transfers for young Americans as well.
“It’s a really good opportunity for host families, too, just to get someone new, just learn new things. The kids learn a lot,” Dahle said, adding that the program allows everyone to “exchange tradition and knowledge.”
Even with her previous experience in the U.S., Hays offered her a unique look into the American spirit.
“People are very, at least the ones I’ve met, are really open-minded,” Dahle said. “They maybe never heard of what I’m talking about, but they don’t mind when I do it. And they’re interested and ask questions, which I find is nice, because then I get to talk about it.”
Even with the exchange, Dahle noted the differences in local and urban cultures is similar in both countries. Dahle is from a small town of just over 100 people.
“That’s also a thing to go with State 4-H. You usually don’t end up — you can end up close to a city — but you’re never in the city so you get rural life, which in Norway, that’s 4-H,” she said. “There’s not much 4-H in the cities. So you get to see how it is other places, in other countries, which is really nice.”
“In cities, I think it’s mostly the same — too busy to live their own lives. Well, at least here in Hays, it’s everywhere you go people talk, it’s really nice.”
Part of the reason for such an easy blending of culture comes from the Norwegian school system. Dahle said she began learning about American and English in the first grade. Students in Norway are required to take English until 10th grade. With that, American culture seeps into her country.
“I guess we do learn quite a bit,” she said. “You’re on the news, movies and music. … I think more Norwegians have heard of America than Americans have heard of Norway.”
Dahle also studied the German language and culture in her schooling, making the German heritage of Ellis County even more special. She noted that the presentation of America in school is different than the being here as she sees the mixing of cultures from various immigrants.
“It’s sort of fun to see,” she said. “When you only read about America, it’s American sort of, it’s everything, but when you visit, it’s a lot of cultures that just mix together.”
An always fun part of the Ellis County Fair, The Eagle Radio/Ellis County Fair Pedal Pull, is complete, and after challenging competition the results are in. The top three in each age division qualify for the Kansas State Pedal Pull Championship at the Kansas State Fair, Saturday September 13, in Hutchinson.
Bargains on the Bricks, an annual downtown Hays tradition including sidewalk sales, bake sales and vendors, is this Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“We fill Main Street from 8th to 12th” said Sara Bloom, executive director of the Downtown Hays Development Corp. “We have 19 vendors, not including all of the vendors that will also move to Main Street from the Downtown Hays Market. We usually have 10 to 15 vendors that participate in that, so you know we’ll have probably 20 to 30 different vendors that will fill Main Street.
“It’s also a great way to save a lot of money and to see the different businesses downtown, but … we’re going to have bake sales, we’re going to have raffle tickets, we’re going to have a garage sale that’s benefiting the the new Hays Community Theatre’s location and their remodel,” she said. “So it’s going to have a little bit of everything for everybody.”
Along with the sales and vendors, live music will permeate the air from Union Pacific Park, with two bands performing during the morning.
In conjunction with the event the Cancer Council of Ellis County will be hosting the Hit the Bricks 5K. In the past, that event was in conjunction with the DHDC BBQ contest, but schedule changes for events has made the race fit better with the sidewalk sale event.
“It takes place in downtown, but it is organized by the Cancer Council of Ellis County. This is their third year partnering with the DHDC,” Bloom said. “They are an organization that provides sunscreen education and financial services to cancer patients and their families.”
The money raised during the race goes toward the mission of serving those patients, according to Bloom.
While the sale is a longtime tradition, this year will be a little different. For the first time in many years, the sale is a stand-alone event. “It’s going back to the days of old,” Bloom said. Previously, the sale had been in conjunction with the BBQ, Blues and Bargains.
Bloom said bargain hunters will be pleased with the event.
“A lot of (the vendors) are going to be advertising or selling merchandise the lowest that you will see all year, even come the holidays,” Bloom said, and suggested participants from the Ellis County Fair could take a break and stop by Main Street.
While the vendor deadline has passed, Bloom said if someone was interested in a last-minute signup, arrangements could be made.
“If there are other nonprofits or stores that want to come down and sell, they’re absolutely welcome to. We can always add them to the map. It is easy to update,” She said. “If people want to come sell, absolutely we won’t turn them away. Same thing with the race.”
For more information about the sale or the race visit the events webpage.
One of the first bowling alleys in Hays, The Playmore, at 116 E. 11th, most recently home to the ARC Thrift Shop, is currently in pretty rough shape. Walls are being stripped and painted, floors are being replaced and stairways are being built as the Hays Community Theatre pushes toward more plays in The Playmore.
The Playmore was built in 1938 being home to four bowling lanes, snooker and pool tables, and a snack bar. Work by HCT volunteers has brought some of the original look back to light, under the direction of Pamela Grizzell, chairwoman of the HCT venue committee.
“Right now, we’re doing all the renovations,” she said. The venue will provide the HCT a home it has been searching for, she said, giving the group the ability to be more active.
“We’ve had a community theater in Hays for about 13 years now. We became a 501(c)3 a few years ago when we became the Hays Community Theatre,” Grizzell said. “The last 13 years, we’ve been renting various facilities (but) we’ve never really had a place to call home.”
“We’re very excited about 116 E. 11th because now we’ll be able to provide year-round programming including children’s theater,” she said.
Even without the permanent facility, the HCT has been putting on shows thanks to donors and contributors. They have hosted two to four shows a year according to Grizzell and with the new location, the HCT has even more potential to bring in help with productions.
“We’re looking forward to working with new donors, now that we are part of the Chestnut Street District,” she said. “It seems that will be be available to work with more grant writers and things to help enhance downtown Hays, which is very exciting. We’re extremely thrilled about our neighbors a couple doors down the street with the Hays Arts Council. … Brenda Meder (director of the Hays Arts Council) has already popped in for a visit and, we’re looking at coordinating with her on a few projects.
The size of the facility is also exciting to the HCT.
“Our facility is about 3,000 square feet. When all done, the theater will seat around 96. We’ll have a breakdown stage that we can move to different parts of the theater, so at times it’ll be in the far back seating 96 and other times the stage will be moved and will have seating around three sides for something more intimate, say maybe a small Shakespeare.”
The group will also use the basement, currently being restored to its original look, to offer the community another venue for gatherings and events.
“Downstairs, there’s a really cool room,” Grizzell said. “It’s completely surrounded with wood. It’s very antique looking, reminiscent of a day gone by and so we’re looking at renting out The Playmore Room to help keep our doors open and get us some of the funding that we’ll need.”
The venue will be open during the Bargains on the Bricks — 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday — giving the public an opportunity to see the work with other activities promoting the HCT.
“We’re going to be open that day for ticket sales. We also have a raffle going on to help pay for upcoming production of ‘Legally Blonde.’ We’ll be having a garage sale in the opposite side of the building, which will not be the theater, and a bake sale as well, so if people want a sneak peek for themselves, if they want to come in and see with their own eyes what they’re doing and check out if, maybe that’s something they would like to volunteer for, they’re welcome to stop by on the 18th from 7:30 to 4 and be glad to say hello,” Grizzell said.
The next HCT production will be “Legally Blonde,” beginning July 23.
The Ellis County Historical Society hosted a rare sight in modern Hays — the game of polo. On Saturday, near the Bickle/Schmidt Sports Complex, people young and old set out to enjoy a sport that was at one time wildly popular in northwest Kansas.
While the event was something to see, Francisco Llosa, a professional polo player who participated in the demonstration said for him, “being out there is just like another day in the office for me.”
Donald Westfall, director of the ECHS, said he was pleased with the turnout and hopes that polo can once again become a part of the area culture.
“Well it was beyond expectations for me, I’m very pleased to see the number of people we had here today,” Westfall said. “There is a tradition of polo in Ellis County which we wanted to revive and remind people about that. Then, of course, we’d like to see if it can result in having polo played here on a more regular basis for the entertainment and education of the public.”
Bringing the demonstration to Hays was in itself valuable, he said, but it is only a first step in bringing the sport back to the area permanently if there is a strong interest. Judging by the excitement and the crowd at the demonstration, it seems feasible.
“I think there is definitely a need for it in town, especially anything equestrian,” said Chelsea Dickey, Munjor resident who brought her family to watch the event. “We have horses ourselves and so it is just an interesting sport to watch.”
“The people who are playing here today from Liberal and Wichita are willing to help us get started here again if there is enough interest,” Westfall said.
Saturday’s match was held in conjunction with the ECHS’s “Polo on the Plains” exhibition at the downtown museum.
“It’s something different, but it is a lot of fun,” Llosa said.
The annual High Plains Music Camp will begin at 9 a.m. Sunday, with high school musicians, clinicians and performers setting up shop at Fort Hays State University for the week, offering musical training and fellowship for the participants — and an array of concerts for the public.
“Since its founding in 1947 by the late Harold G. Palmer, thousands of students have attended High Plains Music Camp,” according to the camp’s website. “Sixty-eight years later, the camp continues to offer students the opportunity to study with outstanding musicians from across the country. Campers experience a week of stimulating, concentrated study with nationally recognized musicians, teachers, and conductors. Performances, concerts, as well as recreational and social camp life make the week an event worth repeating year after year.”
“It has just ballooned and thrived to the point the we have approximately 300 campers who come each year, mostly from Kansas, but we have then from Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, and the same with our clinicians,” said Ivalah Allen, director of the camp. Allen has directed the HPBC for four years.
The large amount of students coming in for the camp means a lot of instructors to train those students, and the camp does not fail to deliver.
“We have around 80-85 clinicians that comprise band instructors, strings and orchestra as well as vocal instructors,” Allen said.
The camp will bring in students and trainers from all musical disciplines including jazz, orchestra and choral. The campers will be comprised of students from graduates from sixth to twelfth grades for instrumental work and ninth to twelfth in vocal and with the wide age group and levels of musical training the camp works to provide something for everyone with personal instruction and large ensemble work.
“Our general approach to this is we want the kids to get intense musical instruction, but yet put it in a manner that is approachable for the students regardless of their level,” Allen said.
While music is the focus of the camp there will be fun activities planed as well, and the camp works to help students develop more than just their musical abilities.
“It goes beyond the musical instruction here, it’s a growing development for thees students, and they learn about themselves, and they have opportunities to get to know students from other parts of the county,” Allen said.
The camp has long been supported by the community and especially FHSU, and this year is no different.
“The community and the university have supported this camp for these students so much. … If anyone would ever like to help contribute to this, I would say over half of our students come by scholarship,” Allen said. Without this support, many students would not be able to attend the camp, she said, and would miss an opportunity to study during the summer break.
“We have students who, literally, this is the only thing they get to do this summer besides stay home until the next school year,” she said. The community support has been necessary to keep the camp open to as many as possible and the camp has worked also to keep prices low for attendees.
“We have deliberately not raised the prices of the camp because we know its hard, but yet our expenses have kept going up so we appreciate anyone who has helped us help these students get to camp,” Allen said.
The campers are not the only ones that will benefit during the week. There will be a concert every night of the camp at 7 p.m., which are free and open to the public.
At Monday’s meeting, the 2015-16 Hays USD 489 Board of Education met for the first time and, following a reception for out-going board members, the board got to work quickly, electing officers and addressing several waiting agenda items.
During the appointment of new officers, board member Josh Waddell made a motion to have member Lance Bickle run the meeting during the election of a new president, vice president, clerk, record keeper and treasurer.
Board member Sarah Rankin nominated Bickle for president, a motion that was approved unanimously. Waddell was elected vice president, Sarah Wasinger was reappointed as board clerk, Cheryl Shubert as deputy clerk, and Ranae Booth as treasurer. Votes for all positions were unanimous.
In the report from Superintendent Dean Katt, the board was informed Scott Summers was hired as the district’s technology director. In his report Katt also noted summer maintenance projects are going well, as Hays High lighting upgrades and facilities cleaning projects are nearing completion. Maintenance on the Hays High track, however, has been delayed due to recent weather.
The board also approved a long list of consent agenda items, generally reappointing officers and coordinators from last year to continue in their positions for the upcoming school year. The agenda items also continued policies without major changes from last year, including school hours, record destruction and the reappointment of the Board Attorney Bill Jeter. The items were passed unanimously by the board.
In new business, the first agenda item to be discussed was the manner in which the board will continue signatures for payroll checks and bill payments. Bickle decided to continue in his predecessors footsteps with manual signatures.
Next the board considered dates and times for future meetings, finding no changes were necessary and so, will keep the current meeting days and times of 6:30 p.m. Monday — as well as aim for a two-hour cap on time.
“There was a study done recent about corporate meetings and, when given a specific time frame, the work was accomplished in that time frame. So it can be done, I know it can be done. We just need a little more rigor to get there,” Rankin said.
Katt suggested that work sessions could be used to flesh out policy and agenda details, enabling the board meetings to be more efficient without “rehashing” the same topics over and over again.
“Those are some of the things that I want to talk about during our retreat, but as we go through I think it’s going to be easier to keep some time time constraints if we think about those types of things,” he said.
Technology was also on the agenda with the board hearing recommendations from Katt for device cases to be purchased for the districts’ Microsoft surface tablets and iPads.
“This is actually under what we thought we would need for iPads, but it’s over what we need for the Surface,” Katt said. Board members questioned why it was necessary to go over budget.
“The way I’m looking at that even with the under on the iPads we still have a substantial over — we’re still $10,605 over budget, Bickle said.
Katt said the reason for the overage was based on initial pricing prior to handling the cases.
“The iPads were close, the others we were just making assumptions on what was out there, based on internet, looking at things. When they sent them, they were just junk. … They wouldn’t have really protected anything,” Katt said. “I think we need to protect our investment and get what we needed.”
The board unanimously approved the suggestion.
The next Board meeting will be July 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the Toepfer Board Room at the Rockwell Administration Center, 323 W. 12th.
The 2015-2016 USD 489 Board of Education will meet for the first time tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the Toepfer Board Room at the Rockwell Administration Center, 323 W. 12th, following a social for outgoing members at 6 p.m. in the same location.
Former Board President, James Leiker, along with members Marty Patterson and Greg Schwartz are being replaced by Mandy Fox, Paul Adams and Luke Oborny. The new members will join returning members Lance Bickle, Josh Waddell, Danielle Lang and Sarah Rankin.
Being the first meeting of the year, procedural matters will first take place before agenda items can be addressed, but waiting for the new members are several pressing matters that will force the returning and new members to get to work quickly on district business.
Following the approval of the meeting agenda, the Board will go to work electing the officers for the year and official representatives in several positions.
“The board will elect a Board President, Board Vice-President, Board Clerk, and Board Treasurer for the 2015-2016 school year,” according to tonight’s agenda. The Board will then consider the appointment of Sarah Wasinger as BOE Clerk and Keeper of the Records for 2015-2016, consider Cheryl Shubert as Deputy Clerk, and consider the appointment of Renae Booth as BOE Treasurer for 2015-2016.
Reports from various departments across the district will be heard by the Board, and several more administrative positions will be brought to consideration before the Board goes to work on district agenda items. Among the items up for discussion during the meeting will include the first purchase of the year, as the Board considers an iPad and Windows Surface case bid. The board will vote on the approval of the bids for almost 3,000 units that will cost the district at least $52,000, if the lowest bids are accepted.
The Board will also hear class pre-enrollment projections for the year and schedule the Board retreat.
