Hays Post
Paul Adams, a Fort Hays State University professor, has filed to run for a second term on the Hays USD 489 school board.
Adams, 58, joins a field of eight other candidates for four open positions on the board, including fellow incumbent Luke Oborny and newcomers Craig Pallister, Lori Hertel, Tammy Wellbrock, Alex Herman, Allen Park, Jessica Moffitt and Cole Engel.
“Part of it is there is still some unfinished work that I wanted to try to play a part in by being a board member,” Adams said on why he is running for a second term. “A bond issue was a part of that. That is a significant element that I think having some experience in the past would be beneficial to our district in playing a part in moving that particular agenda forward.
“The other is that I still need to provide a service to the public. I have some skills yet that would be helpful as we move forward with a new superintendent.”
Superintendent John Thissen resigned earlier in the school year citing personal reasons. He will be replaced by Ron Wilson, former Herington superintendent on July 1.
The school board had a special board meeting Monday to discuss facilities. Members came to a consensus they would like to move forward with a bond election in 2020. The board will look at possible timelines in July.
The district has had two failed bond elections in the last three years — in 2016 and 2017.
Although board members have not decided what projects will be included in the bond issue, they keep coming back to HVAC at Hays High School, expansion of the cafeteria at Hays Middle School, and expansion and renovation of Roosevelt Elementary School. An expansion at Roosevelt could allow the district to close Lincoln Elementary School, which is more than 90 years old and has significant infrastructure problems.
Adams said he is not settled on what projects should be done until he has more information.
“Those keep bubbling up as perennial topics. They are needs that haven’t gone away despite the best effort of our physical facilities and Rusty [Lindsay, director of building and grounds] and his team to do it. We keep coming back around to the same issues,” he said. “In terms of prioritizing, they are a very high priority. Will they come out in the end? It depends on what is the appropriate level of funding to request through a bond issue, and there is a great consider of the board members to set that direction.”
District officials hope a bond issue will allow the district to use existing capital funds to address other facility issues and be better stewards of taxpayers’ money.
“We need some capital infusion from the community to be more effective in what we do to maintain our buildings,” Adams said, “and advance what they need to be for our students and what we know and are seeing from research what we need to change our physical space to be more effective for learning.”
The district reached impasse with the Hays NEA during negotiations last year. Adams said he did not think that impasse was a bad thing. He said ultimately both parties were able to agree once an outside mediator was brought in.
Adams said he would favor the district to moving to interest-based bargaining, which is a win-win strategy that focuses on benefits for both sides in negotiations. Adams has participated in interest-based bargaining at FHSU.
“Instead a focus on I or my side, focusing on let’s look at the district. Our mission is to serve every child in this community. It’s not just limited to 489,” he said. “How can we be fiscally responsible to the district, reward the teachers what is just and fair for the work they do, but come to that resolution, we are here to do what is right by you, to do what’s right by the community and we do what’s right for the board’s responsibility to the take care not just of the individual employees but also the physical plant and the whole needs?”
The board hotly debated the purchase of new iPads for HMS this spring. Some board members favored going to a cheaper version of the Chromebook or eliminating the district’s one-to-one computer policy entirely.
Adams voted in favor of buying new iPads for HMS as part of a regular technology replacement program in the district.
“The reality is that the kids we are working with are going to have to be aware of what computational thinking is. They are going to have to be aware of what computer science is. They are going to have to be aware of coding,” he said. “It is viewed as an essential part of our society and an essential part of what is needed for career and work readiness of kids. …
“We made that decision many years ago, and there really has not been enough negative to say it was a bad decision,” Adams said of the one-to-one computer policy. “I think we have to support it where we are.”
Adams said he would like to have board members on the Technology Committee as ex-officio members in the future to help make the best decisions about what specific devices the district should purchase to meet the students’ education needs with the consideration of the district’s financial limitations in mind.
Adams said the district is making positive progress in the new KESA sate accreditation process. This has included a focus on social emotional learning, use of Career Cruising for career development and the JAG-K program, which is helping at-risk students graduate and prepare for post-secondary education or jobs.
The board was spilt on accepting a grant to renovate the Oak Park Medical Complex for the Early Childhood Connections program. Adams voted in favor of that project and said he looks forward to the grand opening of that facility this fall.
“In education, we are solid,” he said. “Our people are doing a great job, but I think we can do better if we can give them the right physical plant, so the bond issue is one of my true goals.”
Adams has four children who have graduated from Hays High School. He is involved with the National Science Teachers Association and on the sate level with several groups that promote science education.
His wife is employed by USD 489 and is the chairwoman of the science department at HHS.
