Bidding calls are to be sent out in December, January and February, Huxman said. A group has visited six different tracks to look at artificial turf, stadium layout, seating and press boxes.
The board approved Howard and Helmer Architects to provide architectural services for the project. Huxman said that was part of the original contract that was in place and they are now completing.
?Timing is the driving factor,? said Board President Rod Koons about approving the contracts.
The board also authorized a resolution for the sale of general obligation refunding and improvement bonds.
Huxman announced plans for a ground-breaking ceremony after Saturday?s game between Tabor and Kansas Wesleyan.
Huxman said admission will be free to the community.
?(The event) will end with a ceremonial turning of the dirt,? said Koons.
He urged board members to attend as a show of support.
?I?d rather see you go there than the (Kansas Association School Board) meeting,? Koons said.
Board members have an opportunity to attend that meeting in Wichita Dec. 5-7.
In other business, Huxman reported that construction at district facilities is near completion, including the installation of the locker room flooring at the high school.
?It looks really nice?it was well done,? said Huxman, adding that locker replacements should arrive on schedule, toward the end of November or the beginning of December.
Plans are to seed grass at Hillsboro Elementary School toward the end of the week if the ground is dry enough, he said.
HES principal Evan Yoder reported an anonymous donor had given $1,950 to the district?s pre-school program.
Pre-school families will receive a $50 check that they are asked to use to meet needs for themselves or others. Yoder said families will report later how they used the $50.
Yoder also reported that HES students had raised nearly $600 for the Chapman Library fundraiser to replenish books lost during this past summer?s tornado.
The board gave its support for volunteers to carry out plans to make a teacher workroom space in the old kitchen at HES.
Activities director Robert Rempel reported a successful fall sports season.
HHS principal Max Heinrichs shared concerns he has about the league composition and whether talk about changes need to be initiated.
Greg Brown, Hillsboro Middle School principal, reported a good turnout for parent-teacher conferences and completion of MAP testing for fall.
Enrollment data for Sept. 20 listed a head count of 638 and a full-time equivalence of 593.3 students.
?Things didn?t turn out quite as bad as we expected,? said business manager Jerry Hinerman about the numbers.
In other business, the board:
n approved the auditor?s report presented by Donna Fadenrecht of Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk & Loyd.
Fadenrecht explained that new auditing standards require segregation of duties, a difficult standard to meet because of the district?s staff size.
n approved a three-year renewal of the district?s contract with the auditing firm. The annual cost of the contract will increase by $1,500.
?We are trying to remain competitive,? Fadenrecht said about the increase.
While the board could have chosen to bid the contract, it agreed not to because of the satisfactory working relationship with Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk & Loyd.
n approved a contract for C.J. Hill as HHS academic at-risk aide at $10 per hour for 71⁄2 hour days, beginning that week.
n approved PATHS to Adventure contracts for Mike Moran, after-school coordinator; Karen Fryhover, after-school educator; and Kassie Bradley, after-school assistant.
n met in executive sessions to discuss property acquisition and personnel matters.
A special board meeting?executive session for personnel?was to be held Nov. 11 at the offices of Golden Heritage Foods. No action is planned, Huxman said.
