FHSU University Relations
Art media including ceramics, paintings, drawings and printmaking will be displayed at Fort Hays State University’s 40th annual High School Art Exhibition.
The exhibit, open to the public from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday in Gross Memorial Coliseum, will feature art from more than 1,500 students from 60 high schools.
Admission is free. The exhibition is hosted by the FHSU Department of Art and Design.
Get ready for the roar.
Hot Rods for Humanity will bring in muscle cars, antiques and vehicles of all types for a show April 12 at Hays Municipal Park.
Registration is $25 and will run from 9 a.m. to noon, with the show running from noon to 4 p.m. Judging will be completed by 5 p.m.
Freewill donations will be accepted, and all proceeds will benefit Habitat for Humanity of Ellis County.
For more information on the event, visit Facebook.com/hotrodsforhumanity or email [email protected].
With a successful first season under its belt, the Downtown Hays Market is looking to grow in its second year.
In a news release this week, Downtown Hays Development Corp. said the group is on the lookout for new vendors to join the ranks in 2014. The group is looking for growers, craftsmen, bakers, honey producers and artists to join the market.
DHDC also announced more live entertainment this season, which begins June 7, and also is soliciting musicians to sign up to play the events.
The market, located in the 10th Street parking lot between Main and Fort, is open from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and 7:30 to 11 a.m. Saturdays.
For more information on the market, visit www.facebook.com/DowntownHaysMarket or email [email protected].
By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post
USd 489 Superintendent Dean Katt said he believes the compromise bill now awaiting Gov. Sam Brownback’s signature will hurt the district more than it helps.
“Overall, financially, it is not good,” Katt said. “We didn’t receive money for capital outlay (or) state aid. We gained a bit for the local option budget mill levy, but most everything else is cuts.”
Katt added the final iteration of the bill was not as bad as some previous versions — but it’s “not good by any means.”
There is an increase of $14 per student in the base state aid and state funding for the local option budget, but that is countered by money the Hays district will lose for some at-risk students. The proposal adds $129 million in total state aid to help fund poorer school districts, but also contained policy changes that have raised alarms in the educational community. Most notably, it does away with due process, also known as tenure, that requires the decision to terminate a non-probationary teacher to be justifiable to a third party.
Hays USD 489 already was grappling with a projected $1.3 million shortfall in the upcoming budget, and recently informed some staff their contracts would not be renewed for the 2014-15 school year. In an official statement released by the district Tuesday, is was made public those cuts, if approved by the board of education, would affect 16 certified staff, an equivalent of 13 full-time employees. The classified staff also is expected to decrease in size, and three positions already have been cut through the process of attrition.
The compromise was drafted Sunday in response to a Kansas Supreme Court decision ruling Kansas educational funding fell short of constitutional requirements.
Katt said he is discouraged Kansas lawmakers didn’t have “a little more interest and spirited conversation during the regular session,” instead of waiting until until the last weekend to “throw everything together and think they are doing justice to anything.”
The only revenue option, the district said in the release today, is to increase the amount of taxes it levies via the local option budget. The new legislation would allow the district to increase that levy from 30 percent to 33 percent, which would generate approximately $650,000 in new revenue. Such a move would require approval by voters via a mail-in ballot.
“The biggest shock was the teacher tenure,” Katt said. “That was a big surprise. The issue had never came up with any Legislature — no hearings on it or anything.”
Related story: USD 489’s official statement on the school funding bill.
Related story: Kansas teachers union vows to fight for tenure.
Submitted by Hays USD 489
Over the past five years, USD 489 has experienced a significant reduction in funding from the state. As a result, the district is faced with a cumulative deficit of $1.3 million, at the start of the next fiscal year. Over that time, USD 489 has focused on making reductions in program funding, classroom budgets, teacher in-service budgets, student activity budgets, delays in capital improvements and infrastructure updates and staff reductions through attrition. All of these steps made in an effort to preserve quality instruction and maintain staff positions that support that instruction. As the shift in funding reductions occurred, many of these programs and opportunities became reliant on the support of home and school groups, PTA, boosters, and other external fundraising activities.
The focus of USD 489 has always been student success. Even in the current climate of school funding legislation, the administrative decisions have focused on student achievement. While making reductions in some programs is necessary, the goal has remained to preserve programs when at all possible.
At present, with the new school finance formula, Hays will see an increase in the base state aid per pupil. However, the new facilities weighting from the expansions at Hays Middle School will be eliminated. The new legislation would also allow the Board of Education to pass a resolution to permit the school district to utilize funds that currently have to be expended from the general fund to capital outlay. This is not new or additional money, it just allows for flexibility by a shift in expenditures. Therefore, USD 489 will again be faced with a net loss in funding for the overall budget from the state legislature.
Currently, USD 489 is considering multiple options to reduce the funding deficit; including but not limited to an increase in the workbook and materials fee, a possible transportation fee for riding the bus within the 2.5 mile radius of an attendance center, a possible reduction in transportation services district wide, participation fees for activities, and program and personnel reductions. These scenarios, at this time, are still subject to Board approval.
USD 489 is also recommending a reduction of 16 certified staff (13.9 FTE). The staff members that may be affected have been notified by administration over the past week. This action is not official until the Board of Education adopts a resolution to non-renew these contracts. In addition, classified positions have also been affected. Through attrition the district has currently seen a reduction of 3 FTE, with additional reductions anticipated district-wide.
The only revenue enhancement USD 489 could see, would be to increase the Local Option Budget (LOB), bringing funding back to the local level. Currently USD 489 utilizes 30 percent of the LOB; with the new legislation, it would allow the district to access up to 33 percent, approximately increasing funding by $650,000, if utilizing the maximum. In order to realize the increase in the LOB, the Board of Education would have to adopt a resolution and a mail ballot election would be held to approve the increase in the LOB for additional funding.
“During these challenging times in education, the Board of Education and the Administration of USD 489 continue to strive to provide the best education for our students. There is no doubt that more difficult decisions loom in the near future, but USD 489 continues to pride itself on the support of the quality staff and the community that dedicates themselves to the education of children every day,” said Dean Katt, Hays USD 489 superintendent.
SALINA — A Saline County jury has found a 33-year-old Abilene man guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death a Salina woman in April 2013.
Amy Norton of the Saline County Attorney’s Office said sentencing for Dane DeWeese is scheduled for 9 a.m. June 16.
The jury began deliberations Tuesday morning and came back with a decision in just a couple of hours.
DeWeese was found guilty in the death of Kristen Tyler, 27, whose body was found along Interstate 135 near Stimmel Road on May 9. Tyler had been reported missing by family in late April 2013.
Another defendant in the case, Joel Heil, 25, testified in the trial of DeWeese and has said he plans to plead guilty in connection with the murder.
Hays USD 489 has received three applications to fill a vacant seat left by a departing board of education member.
Darren Schumacher resigned his seat after a career change forced him to relocate to Manhattan.
According to the agenda for the April 14 USD 489 board work session, Jerald Braun, Mandy Fox and Patrick Scott have thrown their names in for consideration. Applicants have until April 18 to apply for the vacancy.
Braun, a Fort Hays State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, formerly was a teacher at Felten Middle School and has 17 years of total education experience. Braun earned his master’s degree in instructional technology from FHSU.
Fox, a Kansas State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy, is owner of Fox-Z Consulting, an environmental consulting business, and has worked for K-State, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Texas A&M University, where she earned her master’s degree in soil science.
Scott, who graduated from FHSU with a degree in elementary education and received his master’s from FHSU in school administration, is a former Victoria math teacher and coach, serving from 1976 to 2008. Since 1990, he also has been a sales representative with The Meckenstock Group.
For more information on the candidates and the upcoming work session, click HERE.
Dear Dave,
I want to roll over a 401(k), and my bank is encouraging me to roll it over to fixed annuities. Is this a good investment?
John
Dear John,
More times than not, when you go to a bank for investment advice, what you’ll get in the bargain is bad advice. And that’s the case here.
I’d move toward a traditional IRA, in a series of good growth stock mutual funds. Put it across four types of accounts: growth, growth and income, aggressive growth and international. What you’re looking for, John, is a great track record for your investments. You want a track record so ridiculously good that it gives you a great sense of comfort, even though there’s no guarantee of what’s to come. And there are mutual funds out there that can do just that for you. I own one that’s over 70 years old, and it has averaged nearly 12 percent over that time.
Lots of people talk in “what ifs” when it comes to investing. Well, you can play that little game all day. But if the economy goes completely down the tubes, and the government destroys things like mutual funds and real estate completely, your little bank-recommended annuity isn’t going to make it, either. The banking system as a whole will fail if all the mutual funds close because they’re all based in publicly traded companies. And that means virtually every business you drive by on your way to work would be out of business. A bank’s not going to survive that kind of thing.
If you’re looking for things to help you survive the apocalypse, you’re talking about food and water. But if you want rational, well-reasoned investments, you need to look at growth stock mutual funds and paid-for real estate. That’s what I do!
—Dave
Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He has authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. His newest book, written with his daughter Rachel Cruze, is titled Smart Money Smart Kids. It releases on April 22nd. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 8 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.
By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
A little more than three months into 2014, and Ellis County Rural Fire already has responded to the nearly the same amount of fires fought in all of 2013.
According to Fire Director Dick Klaus, crews have responded to 74 calls and 47 fires this year compared to 52 fires in 2013.
The department, according to Klaus’ report to the Ellis County Commission Monday night, received 41 calls in March, more than any month last year.
Klaus said the workload is weighing on the department’s equipment. He said last Wednesday three trucks went down fighting a fire, but two of the three are back up and running.
Of the nearly 50 fires, 24 have been label suspicious by the department.
Despite all of the work early in the year, Klaus said the crew’s morale is “doing fine.”
Related story: Investigation of suspicious fires continues.
Related story: Private reward grows.
The Hays City Commission is scheduled to reorganize at its regular meeting Thursday, scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
The commission will accept nominations and elect a mayor and vice mayor. Currently, Commissioner Kent Steward currently serves as mayor, and Commissioner Henry Schwaller IV is vice mayor.
The commission also will consider mayoral appointments to four boards.
• CARE Council: Michael Billinger and Olga Detrixhe
• Hays Housing Authority Board: Sue Rouse
• Hays Public Library Board: Katherine Wolfe
• Sister Cities Advisory Board: Ang Robson.
Also on the AGENDA are three vehicle abatements, one each in the 500 block of West 23rd, the 1300 block of Donald Drive, and the 1800 block of East 27th.
For more on the meeting, check Hays Post.
FHSU University Relations
Dr. Lane Weaver, assistant professor of music and theatre at Fort Hays State University, will showcase his talents on trombone in a recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 11, in Malloy Hall’s Palmer Recital Hall. Accompanying Weaver on the piano will be pianist Irena Raviskaya.
Weaver holds a Bachelor of Music in music education from Utah State University, a Master of Music in trombone performance from the University of Notre Dame and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in wind conducting from the University of Kentucky. He is also director of FHSU’s athletic bands, Symphonic Winds and the Brass Choir.
The faculty recital is hosted by the Department of Music and Theatre. It is free of charge and open to the public.
The fourth of five candidates selected as presidential finalists for Fort Hays State University will have a public reception to meet the community at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
The reception for Dr. Michael H. Droge will be in the Dreiling Lobby, Sheridan Hall, 601 Park.
visit Hays and meet with campus and community groups on Monday and Tuesday.
Droge currently serves as president of Park University, a nonprofit, private institution in Parkville, Mo.
For more on FHSU’s fourth candidate and the ongoing selection process, click HERE.
A historic run calls for some immortality.
Eagle Community Television is offering a DVD set featuring key moments in Hays High School’s record-setting, 23-win season — a year that ended with a fourth place finish in the state tournament.
Eagle has produced three DVD sets for Indian fans to remember the 2013-14 season. The first is a $80 three-disc set that includes 5A State Tournament games, and a second, a $150 six-disc set, includes the state tourney games and games from the Dodge City Tournament of Champions.
The third set chronicles the entire 2013-14 season, minus the state tournament games, for $500.
For more information or to order a copy, call Eagle Community Television at (785) 628-0467.
