The board met early to avoid conflicts with Monday evening school music programs and to allow for a morning of building tours and classroom visits by board members.

The proposed high school and kindergarten changes are in response to state and federal mandates for continually higher test scores between now and the year 2014.

Ken Arnhold, Marion High School principal, explained several possibilities for next year's high school schedule. The most likely proposal has morning classes meeting daily, with block-schedule classes in the afternoons.

Arnhold surveyed teachers to find what worked best for their academic subjects. Under the currently-favored draft schedule for 2005-06, students would be able to earn eight credits per year if they choose an additional academic subject to replace seminar.

Seminars would continue as supervised study hall time, but the new system would have them at various times during the day to add scheduling flexibility for students, rather than all at the last 30 minutes of the day.

Clubs and organizations would have a designated activity period from 11:20 a.m. to noon each Friday. Lunch break would be from noon to 12:30 p.m. daily for high school students.

Arnhold and a group of MHS teachers continue to meet with the Technology Excellence in Education Network-schools to coordinate interactive television classes.

"The bottom line is, if students really want to take a particular course from us or another school, we would work with them and they with us, to make it fit their schedule," Arnhold said.

Pre-enrollment data will give an indication of what changes might be needed.

Board president Rex Savage said the new schedule might allow more sharing of teachers between middle school and high school.

Schedules may change at the kindergarten level, too.

Leiker introduced the topic of all-day kindergarten and elicited positive input from MES principal Stan Ploutz, MES teacher Michelle Adkins and board member Chris Sprowls, who agreed that the best benefit to students is to intervene early.

"I have talked with Mr. Ploutz and he understands the educational benefit of all-day kindergarten so we can get a better jump-start on kids' education," Leiker said.

" I'd be open to having a meeting with parents. The two kindergarten teachers understand the benefit of those students being there. The benefit educationally is the child receives two times the education when they go into first grade."

Ploutz reported several aspects of full-day versus half-day kindergarten:

-- Students are young and get tired; there is a rest time or nap time during the day.

-- Schools receive funding for only .5 full-time equivalency for a kindergarten school, whether full-day or half-day; there is no added money from the state for full-day attendance.

-- Lunch reimbursement is handled the same way, with the same reimbursement, as for any other student.

-- Only about 20 percent of Marion-Florence pre-schoolers are home with parents during the day; most are in daycare.

"A lot of our kids don't get good preschool."

The district would start with an opt-out program for parents whose kids not ready for full-day kindergarten.

-- Classroom space is a problem, "but we could share a classroom across the hall" from the current kindergarten rooms.

Next year's kindergarten class population is expected to be about 40 students, possibly up to 50.

"The mastery and social skills are benefited," Leiker said. "I have talked to several first-grade teachers who have seen the switch, who say about an all-day program, 'I've never seen students as prepared as those who had all-day kindergarten.' Our scores would indicate that we are behind."

Michelle Adkins said, "I'd like to put in a plug for all-day kindergarten. At my mother's school, some parents opted out (of a full-day program), but by December every child was going all day, 100 percent."

Board member Chris Sprowls recently attended sessions on early childhood education at the Kansas Association of School Boards convention.

"Eighty-five percent of a child's brain structure is formed by age 4," he said. Comparisons of children who do and do not receive early education, he said, show "amazing differences in test scores." The early childhood programs can provide an educational and social background that some students are not getting at home.

Savage said, "If for every dollar in early childhood education it saves you seven dollars in later years for at-risk kids, you would benefit from an all-day program" both financially and educationally.

Agreeing, Leiker said: "This might eliminate the need for the at-risk transitional first grade."

Commenting on funding, Savage said, "We need to make sure we're not eliminating a program that is funded by the state to take on something that costs" the district.

Leiker said that details on reimbursement and funding can be brought to the board.

Tod Gordon, activities director, reported that Peabody-Burns USD 398 approved baseball and softball at its last board meeting.

"They will pay for an assistant baseball coach this year. Eventually, next year we pro-rate the cost of the program," Gordon said, adding that the district can expect "up to 10 students for softball and 10-plus in baseball from Peabody-Burns."

Gordon said the name of the team will be Marion-Peabody-Burns Warriors, operating under a two-year agreement requiring mutual agreement for either school to back out for the second year.

Gordon expressed concern about transportation and drawing coach-teachers out of school for junior varsity games.

Sprowls said, "You can get JV a few games instead of a full schedule this first year."

Sprowls also said that all three diamonds at the Marion field are regulation, although the pitching mounds vary and side boundaries are tight. The mounds could be filled in then plowed back down as needed. Another suggestion was to play some games at Peabody.

A familiar topic arose when Leiker reported that a group of high school students will make a presentation soon about the grading scale at the high school.

Principal Arnhold explained that four teachers and four students went to a workshop called the Marion County Empowerment Association. They chose an area to pursue, grading scales.

"They are sending a letter out to area schools to see what grading scales are in our area and what emphasis colleges place on class rank, ACT scores and grades," Arnhold said.

Bowers said, "I would encourage them to talk to DSIT and teachers, too."

Board member Keith Collett added, "When this percolates through the principal, students, teachers, and parents, then I'll be willing to consider it."

Leiker suggested that the population base in school board voting districts has shifted enough that perhaps new boundaries should be drawn. The courthouse doesn't have information about population in each district. The voter registration rolls show that districts 1 and 4 have 1,028; districts 2 and 5 have 1079, districts 3 and 6 have 777.

According to statute, the board has a right to re-evaluate district boundaries.

Collett said, " We also have an obligation" to do so.

"The City Council looks at boundaries every 10 years when a new census comes out," he added

Savage asked, "Are you uncomfortable with the population bases with the way they exist now?" and Collett answered, "Yes, I am."

Board Clerk Martin Tice said: "Dec. 31 is the deadline to do this [redraw boundaries]. We have the law that tells us what to do, but we don't have the information to do it. 1970 was the last time it was done."

He said that voter registration is not an adequate measure of population, and that the County Clerk's office would be the entity to "do the numbers."

The board's consensus was to concentrate on the rural population and take the time to get accurate data for any redistricting.

In other business:

-- approved Kara Chisholm as assistant coach for high school girls' basketball.

--  the board approved a work-release program for high school student Stephanie Jacobson.

-- Roger Hannaford reported that Sharon Tatge will retire at the end of this year from her position as director of the TEEN network.

-- Superintendent Leiker told about his formation of an eight-member Marion-Florence advisory council to meet with him the first Wednesday every month, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

"I want vocal people to talk about what's happening in our district," Leiker said, adding that the agenda will come from the community.