USD 410 board fills faculty position, OKs bleacher buy

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TOM STOPPEL
The Unified School District 410 Board of Education filled the vacancy for an elementary school physical education and health instructor as well as head coach for high school girls’ basketball at its July 11 meeting.

Melissa Stenfors was issued a contract for the teaching position at Hillsboro Elementary School and a supplemental contract to be head coach for girls’ basketball and assistant coach for volleyball.

The P.E. and basketball-coaching positions were created by the resignation of Becky Carlson, which the board formally accepted earlier in the evening.

In other personnel action, Carol Flaming was issued a classified contract to serve as kitchen assistant and Janet Whisenhunt as an aide in the Wiebe Media Center.

In the board’s first meeting with newly elected member Gary Andrews, Brent Barkman was reelected board president and Rod Koons was elected vice-president for the coming year.

Other appointments included:

— Debbie Geis as the board’s representative on the Marion County Special Education Cooperative, with Eddie Weber as the alternate;

— Mark Rooker as the board’s representative to the Technology Excellence in Education Network;

— Rod Koons as the board’s chief negotiator of faculty contracts and Dale Klassen as the assistant negotiator;

— Andrews as the board’s representative on the Professional Development Council;

— Barkman as the board’s representative to the Kansas Association of School Boards.

Superintendent Gordon Mohn presented plaques to the following retiring employees to commemorate their many years of service to the district: Priscilla Unruh (21 years), Arlene Pankratz (33 years), Dave Clark (24 years) and Gloria Winter (29 years).

June Suderman, who was unable to attend the meeting, had received a plaque earlier in the day for 10 years of service.

School finance

Mohn updated the board on the impact of the state legislature’s recent school-funding agreement on USD 410.

Adjusted general fund numbers project an increase from $4,004,386 in fiscal year 2005 to $4,216,559-an increase of about $212,000.

Mohn said additional funding outside of the general fund for special education will approach $67,600-nearly $230,000 total for the county-wide cooperative-while capital outlay will increase by $32,700.

“I’ll have a better idea in August of exact numbers for budget purposes,” Mohn said.

Portable bleachers

By a 6-1 vote, the board approved a recommendation that the district buy a unit of portable outdoor bleachers at a cost not to exceed $38,500.

Tabor College also has ordered one set of the portable units from Century Industries; the sets are to be delivered to Hillsboro for $37,939 per unit.

The district and college will share the use of the two sets of bleachers at the elementary school football field and on the visitors’ side at Tabor’s Reimer Field.

According to a report to the board, the existing bleachers at both fields have been deemed obsolete and a safety hazard that has the potential to cause injury for which the district would be liable.

Mohn said most of the funding ($32,750) for the district’s purchase would come from the newly implemented equalization aid for capital outlay recently created by the Kansas Legislature.

Weber voted against the recommendation to purchase the bleachers.

Building reports

Evan Yoder, elementary school principal, reported that eight or nine teachers will be attending a Pathways to Reading workshop in Peabody.

“Most of our K-2 teachers will be attending,” Yoder said. “Approximately 30 teachers from across the county will be taking the class.”

Corey Burton, middle school principal, said volunteers are needed for the HMS site-based council.

Max Heinrichs, activities director, said the calendar continues to fill. HHS volleyball camp was under way this week as was HRC volleyball for girls in grades two through six.

Heinrichs said Hillsboro will be the site of a Mid-America Youth Basketball tournament July 22-24 and HHS football camp will begin July 25.

Repairs will be made on the Brown Gymnasium floor beginning July 15, and the court will be “shut down” until the beginning of volleyball season.

Dale Honek, high school principal, said numerous teachers were taking advantage of teacher workshops-including Michelle Melton, who had attended two reading program workshops.

Honek said a new library aide had been hired, work was being done on the HHS handbook and reported a freshman/parent orientation is planned for Aug. 4.

Honek also said HES teacher Maura Wiebe is planning a Gen. III technology showcase from 10 a.m. until noon, Friday, July 22, in the technology presentation room. Gen. III is a two-week class that familiarizes teachers with computer software programs and how to integrate their use into the classroom.

Revitalization plan

The board tabled action on whether to participate as a taxing entity in the Marion County Revitalization Plan.

Marion County Commissioner Dan Holub said the program is voluntary for taxing entities within the county.

“This program is designed to encourage growth through tax abatements,” Holub said. “This will not take away from any appraised value in the district.”

After a lengthy discussion, questions arose concerning how the county’s proposal interacts with property inside city limits.

Holub said he would obtain specific answers and bring them before the board at the next regular meeting.

Other business

In other business, the board:

— decided to keep school lunch prices at the same rate as they were this past school year.

Mohn said USD 410’s rate is already the highest in Marion County and ranks 331st among the 343 districts in the state of Kansas. At the same time, USD 410’s general-fund support of food service is among the lowest when compared to other schools.

“We would help the situation by closing our lunch hour to high school students, but that’s a privilege for the students,” Mohn said. “I think the students have done an excellent job behaving and respecting that privilege.”

— approved the district’s 2005-06 membership in the Kansas Association of School Boards and participation in that organization’s Legal Assistance Fund

— in response to recent questions from some patrons, reviewed the district’s procedure for hiring employees. The hiring sequence shall be as follows:

(1) verbal offer of employment to the candidate;

(2) verbal acceptance by the candidate;

(3) contract sent to the candidate and the candidate’s acceptance signified by a signed contract returned to the superintendent;

(4) approval of contract by the board.

— met in executive session for 55 minutes with no action taken when the public session resumed.

— increased the pay for substitute teachers from $82.50 to $85 per day and established the pay for substitute paraprofessionals at $6.90 per hour.

— heard a TEEN report from Rooker and an MCSEC report from Geis.

— heard from Mohn that Chris Moddelmog, newly appointed director of TEEN, has moved into the central offices.

— heard from Mohn that Jantz Construction will begin replacing the steps in front of HHS with heated steps to reduce ice buildup in winter. Adjustments will made to the central office when the new steps are completed.

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