Small Town News

No budget cuts made at April USD #481 BOE meeting, principal and teacher non-renewed

---

The Rural Vista USD #481 Board of Education met Monday evening at White City but after much discussion, failed to make any further budget cuts for the 2010-2011 school year. They officially non-renewed Eric Winters contract as principal of schools at White City on 6-1 vote (Jim Barten voting no). At the March meeting, the board had approved moving from a superintendent and two principals to having the superintendent also serve as the principal at one location and have a principal at the other location. Duane Blythe thanked Mr. Winters for his work at White City schools and hoped that he realized it was only a budget move to cut administration and certainly not a personal one. He acknowledged the work Mr. Winters had done in his year at White City and wished him well in the future. Mr. Winters thanked the board for the opportunity to serve as the White City principal during the past year and stated he felt it was a very good school with good people. He stated he understood from the professional side of the move the board was making and wished nothing but success for White City School and USD #481.

The board also read a resolution to non-renew the contract of White City Junior High non-tenured teacher, Heather Swarts. That resolution passed on a 5-2 vote (Jim Barten and Steve Whitehair casting the no votes).

Another move the board made Monday evening, was to designate White City as the new board office. Plans will begin immediately to move the office to White City. It was stated the bank had offered vault space to secure important papers and the board was also assured there would be no remodeling issues in the move. Superintendent Hickert also told the board there was not an issue changing counties where the office would be located. Although board member Jim Barten said he was uncomfortable in making the decision at the Monday night meeting, after an executive session the board approved the move on a 5-2 vote (Jim Barten and Steve Whitehair opposing).

On the table for discussion in possibly making further budget cuts were high school dance team, junior high cheerleading, high' school forensics and junior high scholar's bowl. Tanya Coons-Redig adamantly opposed dropping any of the extra curricu-lar activities mentioned, stating she felt it was a cheap way to keep kids busy and out of trouble. After the motion to leave all in place failed on a 2-5 vote, the final vote of 5-2 allowed the district to keep junior high cheerleading and high school dance with the other proposals to be discussed later.

Another item discussed was transportation for the coop soft-ball team but Superintendent Hickert stated she felt that it was very possible the Herington School district would either dissolve the coop agreement with White City for softball or expect the district to pick up more of the tab. That item will be discussed after more is known about Heri-ngton's plans.

The meeting, which was held at the White City School library, was attended by all board members, superintendent, two building principals, board clerk, eleven visitors at White City, five visitors at Hope via ITV and one reporter.

During the public forum, Andrea Timm of White City addressed the board. She thanked them for leaving the pre-school for 4 year olds and for consolidating the administrative duties. She told the board she had written to all area senators and representatives and had received letters back from all. She said she didn't think Rep. Tom Moxley was fully informed about White City School as he had told her White City didn't get as much money because the school didn't have as many at-risk students nor low income qualifying families. She also encouraged the board to not look at hiring new teachers for positions available. She felt experienced teachers should be looked at and the best person for the job be hired. She also asked that the board look at four day school weeks.

Duane Blythe gave a governmental report about a bill extending the date for non-renewal of teachers, report of possible tax increases and said school leaders must be prepared for reductions in budgets.

Ethan Gruen and Eric Winters had submitted reports for their respective buildings and also each told of the success of the recent state assessment tests in - their schools. Both were extremely pleased with the preliminary reports of the results.

Mr. Winters also announced an open house for Mrs. Nancy Lau-demann, who is retiring after many years of teaching in the elementary school at White City, will be held on May 5 from 3:30-6:30 pm at the school with the public invited.

The board volunteered for the following assignments for graduation at the two attendance centers:

Hope High School - Jim Barten (read names) and Esther Dillon (hand out diplomas)

White City High School - Kevin Kniebel (read names) and Tanya Coons-Redig (hand out diplomas)

Hope Junior High - Jim Barten (read names) and Steve Whitehair (hand out diplomas)

White City Junior High - Duane Blythe (read names) and Tanya Coons-Redig (hand out diplomas)

Approval was given to remain a member of the Kansas Association of School Boards at a fee of $4,880 and to retain the legal assistance from the KASB for a fee of $1400.

The board heard the first reading of the following increase in fees for the 2010-2011 school year:

Student fees - $60 per student with a maximum of $160 per family

Student fees for free lunch families - $30 per child with a maximum of $ 120 per family

Art fee - $20 per student

After School Program - $5 per day for everyone (no discounts)

Pre-School - $125 per month

The board then met in executive session to discuss negotiations. Upon reconvening, the only motion made was to ratify early retirement for teachers with a date of May 1 for the present year and April 1 in years to come. Motion passed on a 6-1 vote (Steve Whitehair voting no).

Resignations approved were Michelle Noelle, Hope music teacher; Jolie McDaniel, board clerk and Cathy Stewart as White City Junior High Scholars' Bowl coach. They were approved on a unanimous vote.

Approved for appointment as a half time music teacher at Hope was Joetta Nagely, who is a retired music teacher out of the Chapman district, having taught several years at Rural Center. The appointment was approved unanimously.

Out of district requests were approved for Tyler and Ace Elsasser to finish the school year at Hope as they have moved out of the district but wished to remain in the Hope school.

The board thanked Jolie McDaniel for her work the past several years as board clerk and wished her well in her future endeavors. She was presented with a hanging basket of flowers. She thanked the board for the opportunity to work in the district and said it was a difficult decision to make to resign. She said she felt it was best for her family and stated she had grown both personally and professionally in her work in the district.

Being no further business, the board adjourned at 9:40 pm.



Copyright 2010 The Prairie Post, White City, Kansas. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2010 The Prairie Post White City, Kansas. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

More from The Prairie Post