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New principal to pursue calling at Thomas More-Prep Marian

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By RICKY KERR
Hays Post

Thomas More Prep-Marian has a new principal, Chad Meitner, who replaces two-year interim principle Kathy Taylor. Meitner’s contract with the private Catholic school began July 1, and he hopes to “continue to educate the whole person, body, mind and spirit.”

“It’s important never to just become an academic prep academy or just an athletic factory, but it needs to be all three of those things, academics, spiritual and the physical,” Meitner said. “Just like God’s love is infinite, so is our ability as learners to become the best we can be in every area.”

Meitner served as principal of Sacred Heart Cathedral Catholic School (kindergarten through eighth grade) in Dodge City before taking the position at TMP. His personal experience living with host families during his collegiate career gave him a positive view of the new changes to the school, which has shut down its boarding program in favor of a host-family system for international and out-of-town students.

Chad Meitner
Chad Meitner

“I speak Spanish and I learned Spanish in college and by visiting countries and living with host families. … A big part of the students who come from other countries or even just commute in will be living with host families,” he said, “I’m a big proponent of the value in that — to not only get to know a school, but also a culture and a community, and the best way to do that is through being a part of a family.”

Meitner said he is excited to be a partner with families of all the students who are a part of the school.

“I think it will be paramount for our success,” Meitner said. “Any school — public, private, Catholic, Christian — it’s going to have to have strong family support.”

With various changes underway for TMP, including reduction of faculty, Meitner said the ultimate goal is doing what is best for the students who attend the school.

“I feel like that coming in as a first-year administrator I need to be a learner and I need to come in and observe and listen to the people that have been here and find out as much as i can about TMP, the current situation, but also about its traditions, the culture,” he said. “I haven’t got a sense at all of negativity.”

Meitner said his biggest challenge will be maintaining and facilitating communications with everyone holding a stake in the school’s future, including faculty, alumni, donors, students and parents.

Katt on Kansas school funding bill: ‘Not good by any means’

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USD 489 Superintendent Dean Katt
USD 489 Superintendent Dean Katt

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.

Former Trego school board president accepts plea agreement on drug charges

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By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

WAKEENEY — John Reeder, former president of Trego County USD 208 schools, waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday and entered into a plea agreement.

Reeder
Reeder

According to the plea agreement, Reeder, also a Trego County appraiser, pleaded guilty to one count of marijuana distribution and one count of possession of methamphetamine. The plea agreement calls for 15 months “non-prison sanction” on the distribution charge and 11 months on the possession charge, with sentences to run consecutively. The agreement also calls for 36 months of supervision by community corrections. A non-prison sanction allows for the possibility of a defendant being placed on probation or under the supervision of community corrections.

According to the Kansas Attorney General’s office, a non-prison sanction is allowed per statute if the court finds an individual can be admitted to an appropriate treatment program or if “the non-prison sanction will serve the community safety interests by promoting offender reformation.”

Sentencing is scheduled for 1 p.m. April 8, at which time the plea agreement will be finalized or the court has the authority to impose an alternate sentence.

Reeder, 52, who resigned his school board post immediately following his Dec. 20 arrest, was represented in court by Michael Holland II, Russell, while Kimberly King served as special assistant attorney general for the prosecution.

Reeder remains free on a community corrections bond.

Reeder’s plea agreement can be seen here.

Trego Co. school board president resigns post after arrest

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WAKEENEY — Arrested on a series of drug-related allegations Thursday afternoon, Trego County USD 208 Board of Education president has resigned his position with the schools.

Reeder
Reeder

Reeder was taken into custody at his WaKeeney home, facing charges of possession of marijuana, criminal use of a firearm, and two counts of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school. He is scheduled to appear in Trego County District Court at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Reeder also serves as a Trego County appraiser.

A release issued by the school district said Reeder had resigned his post with the board of education, a post he has held since July. The release noted Reeder was not admitting guilt, but that he wanted to avoid becoming a distraction to the business of the school district.

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USD 208 statement:

On Jan. 2, 2014, Trego County USD 208 Board of Education President John Allen Reeder was arrested on drug-related charges. Mr. Reeder was elected President of the BOE in July of 2013 and has been supportive of the district’s anti-drug and alcohol policies. In response to the arrest of Mr. Reeder, Trego County Superintendent Dr. George Griffith state, “I am a firm believer that all members of the school district should be held to the same standards related to their actions, regardless if it is a student, teacher, administrator or even a school board member. Deciding what to do regarding students and staff members is clear because there are policies and rules in place ot provide guidance. Hownever, with a board members being an elected official, the district is limited in the actions it can take.”

Dr. Griffith visited with Mr. Reeder on January 3, 2014, at which time Mr. Reeder and Dr. Griffith agreed that it would be in the best interest of the students if Mr. Reeder resigned his position on the Board of Education immediately. Mr. Reeder wanted the board and members of the community to know that he was not admitting any guilt. His concern was that the charges against him might distract the board of education from its business, which is doing what is in the best interest of the children they serve.

Trego Co. school board president arrested on drug, weapons allegations

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Reeder
Reeder

WAKEENEY (AP) — Authorities said a school board president for a western Kansas district has been arrested on drug-related charges.

Trego County Sheriff Richard Hanks tells television stations KAKE and KWCH that John Reeder was taken into custody Thursday at his WaKeeney home. He was arrested on allegations of possession of marijuana, criminal use of a firearm and two counts of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school.

Reeder is listed as president of the board of education for Trego County schools. He also is listed as a Trego County appraiser.

A Trego County jail staffer told the Associated Press that Reeder remains in custody, but no attorney is listed for him in jail records.

KWCH reported Superintendent George Griffith said there is no statement from the school district at this time.

Lawrence school district to build tech ed center

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LAWRENCE (AP) — The Lawrence school board has formally accepted land that will be the site of a new technical education center for the district’s high school students.

The board on Monday voted to accept 11 acres donated by HiPer Real Estate Holdings.

Superintendent Rick Doll said the vote was the culmination of years of work to expand the district’s job-training and career preparation efforts.

The Lawrence Journal-World reported the $5.7 million project is being funded with money from a $92.5 million bond issue district voters approved in April.

Construction is expected to begin early next year, with the center scheduled to open for the 2015-2016 school year.

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