School board OKs purchase of temp-control system

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN
The USD 410 Board of Education decided at its Jan. 13 meeting to purchase a computerized temperature-control system for Hillsboro Elementary School at a cost of $109,635.

The decision was made by unanimous vote after an independent engineer, Bill Keeling of Columbia, Mo., reported the new system would save the district about $23,000 per year and cover the purchase expense in less than five years.

Over a 10-year period, the system was projected to save the district about $83,750 after the purchase price was recovered.

The system will be purchased from EPM Inc. of Fulton, Mo.

In connection with the purchase, the board also approved a proposal from Central National Bank to finance the project at 4.663 percent interest over 10 years.

Hillsboro State Bank and Emprise Bank also responded to the invitation to submit a financing proposal.

The board reviewed a “rough draft” of revised administrative guidelines for teacher evaluations. The guidelines are designed to bring consistency between evaluators, the board was told.

The guidelines call for a minimum of 60 minutes of announced principal observation and 30 minutes of unannounced principal observation. The principal is to keep a record of all classroom observations during the evaluation period that exceed 10 minutes in duration.

The guidelines also call for teacher strengths to be identified in four evaluation areas. In addition, each evaluation form should include a minimum of three “goals for growth.”

The principal and teacher shall measure each growth goal within one year of its creation. This provision is targeted at tenured teachers who are on a three-year evaluation cycle.

In other business, the board:

unanimously approved extending the contract of Superintendent Gordon Mohn for an additional three years.

heard that the company that completed work on the Robert C. Brown Gymnasium floor this summer has offered to redo the job “in order to provide the district with the highest of quality projects.”

The company asked that the district cover the cost of gym finish and specialized art work. The board was told the district applies fresh finish each summer anyway. The cost of the specialized art work was estimated at $2,000.

No action was taken on the offer.

unanimously approved an addition of $1,583 to the contract of Sara Hill, Hillsboro High School English teacher, because she will be teaching a composition class for Cloud County Community College during her planning period. The district will be paying Hill the difference between what she earns from CCCC and what she could earn from the district for teaching the additional class.

accepted a report stating that USD 410 facilities have been inspected and found to be asbestos safe with no known dangers to students or employees.

accepted a transportation report indicating that USD 410 buses had driven 106,630 miles during the first semester of the school year, which is a decrease of 3,225 miles from a year ago. School-owned cars put on 30,916 miles during the first semester, a decrease of nearly 9,000 miles from 2001.

accepted a gift of $2,500 from Robert Sextro. He requested that $500 be used to support the band trip this spring and that the rest go toward scholarships for high school students.

acknowledged receiving the annual “Building Report Cards” prepared by the Kansas State Department of Education. A summary of the report cards was reported in the Jan. 16 issue of the Hillsboro Free Press Extra.

met in executive session to hear teacher evaluation reports, discuss the evaluation of the district’s four building principals, and to discuss contract negotiations with members of the certified teaching staff.

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