Goessel school custodian to be honored for service May 19

At its May 11 meeting, the Goessel school board set a date for recognizing Norman Schmidt, who is retiring after working as the junior/senior high school custodian for 16 years.

The recognition was to be Tuesday, May 19, following the high school awards program. Administration and board members were asked to help serve refreshments.

Superintendent John Fast informed the board that Lynel Unrau and Dewayne Voth would be recognized earlier on May 19 for their years of service as board members. The recognition for them was set for 3:30 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. Fast said they have 32 years of combined service on the board.

The board listened to Fast share the latest news about the budget. He had received a four-page memo that day from the Kansas Association of School Boards. He said $54,000 would be cut from the Goessel USD 411 budget.

?That’s pretty significant,? he said, but added, ?We?ll be OK.?

He said there would be no cuts in the local option budget.

Business administrator Chet Roberts said, ?We?re in better shape than a lot of other districts.?

Roberts reviewed current budget figures with the board. Although some funds are ?tight,? overall the numbers are comparable to last year. While some expenses have increased, others, such as heating and motor fuel, have decreased.

Fast said the state?s school-finance situation was changing daily, and he would update the board as he receives more information. Board member Dan Miller commended the administration for its budget work.

In other business the board:

n accepted the resignation of Tonya Bartel, junior high English teacher and high school forensics coach. She is completing her first year of teaching at Goessel.

?She?s done an outstanding job,? Fast said. Junior/senior high school principal Marc Grout agreed: ?We?re sorry to lose her; she?s done an excellent job this year.?

According to Grout, Bartel had considered this her ?dream job? but decided to stay home with her family.

n approved the administration?s recommendation to hire Lauretta Wedel as a bus driver. She will replace Rod Boese, who resigned. Wedel has experience driving for the Moundridge school district. She also has experience with custodial work and would be willing to help with that at Goessel.

n discussed the driver?s education fee. ?Generally, we?re a little low? compared to other districts, Grout said. The fee has been $95 for in-district students, and $147.50 for out-of-district students.

The definition of ?in-district? was clarified as students who are enrolled in school at Goessel during the school year, even if they live in a different district.

?Ninety-five dollars will not cover all of our expenses,? Fast said. Fast suggested raising the in-district rate to $125 and the non-district rate to $175, although he said that would still be a little low compared to other schools.

Those who receive free lunches through the school system will not pay for driver?s education. Those who pay a reduced rate for lunches will pay a reduced rate for drivers ed. Fast said it will continue to be a summer class.

n approved a recommendation to include sixth graders in junior high sports again. Grout informed the board that no eighth-grade girls are planning to participate in school sports next year. He said there would only be five or six seventh-grade girls. Therefore, it would be necessary to include sixth graders again next year.

Sixth-grade girls would participate in volleyball and basketball, while the sixth-grade boys would participate only in basketball.

n reviewed lunch prices. Fast said Goessel?s lunch prices are far below the rate other schools charge. The administration recommended the lunch rate be raised from $1.50 to $1.80. Board clerk Patsy Schmidt said fuel costs declined, but food costs did not go down.

n heard Meysing report on the recent Marion County Special Education Cooperative board meeting that she had attended.

She said the MCSEC board voted on the proposed $347,832 renovations for the building they purchased. She said she is not opposed to reasonable renovations, but she is opposed to excessive renovations. Therefore, she voted against the proposal because she considered some of the proposed renovations to be excessive.

The Centre board member also voted against the proposal, but the other three schools voted for the plan. Meysing said the projected finish date is Aug. 8.

n heard that board members were invited to attend breakfast with the senior class on May 15 and with the eighth-grade class on May 20 in the high school cafeteria.

n discussed the 2009-10 school calendar. Board member Lynnette Duerksen reported that teachers wanted to switch days off. Instead of no school April 5, which would make a four-day weekend right before contests, teachers had requested having Jan. 18 off instead.

Fast said this calendar has 168 days, but instructional hours are comparable to other years. He said the school would try this schedule for one year. The schedule has fewer days than usual, but the days will be 10 minutes longer.

n approved use of a school bus to transport junior high students to Camp Wa-Shun-Ga for a non-school event sponsored by the area churches. A school bus has been used the past number of years. School bus driver Rannie Schmidt will be the driver. The school will receive $1 for every mile the bus is driven for the trip, and the driver is to receive a gratuity payment.

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