Small Town News

329 BOE members ask to be involved

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Training offered through the Kansas Association of School Boards made an impact on USD 329 Board of Education members and prompted discussion of how they could be more involved in making sure the district's goals are shared and met.

Board Member Linda Craghead said she had watched the training, which was presented as a Webinar that could be viewed at the board members' convenience, and came away wanting more active engagement with administrators and teachers so they know more about the actual situations at the school.

She said she would like to see the Board of Education not be so tied up in just enacting policies to meet standards.

"What tools do our administrators and staff need?" she asked.

She said she wants to be informed when making decisions that affect the classroom and to make conscious decisions to enhance the teacher's abilities to do their jobs.

Board Member Dave Breiner said the board has fallen into a pattern of only tackling the agenda items

"We deal with what'd given to us," he said.

The board discussed ways in which to become more involved and how to reach out to the community, teachers and administrators to ask for input rather than just dealing with the official business items.

The conversation also transitioned into a discussion of what teachers are asked to do and the resources they are given to accomplish those goals.

Superintendent Phil Mahan reported that the district anticipates a $60,000 shortfall in funding this year due to cutbacks and shortfalls at the state level, and he spoke with frustration about unfunded mandates, including No Child Left Behind, that he said require the school to do more and more to meet standards, but don't provide more funding with which to do so.

Board Member Duane Hund said the district's budget likely can handle the hit, but he said the legislature in Topeka seems to not understand what schools are facing.

"At the same time, it's the feeling that no one down in Topeka is on the same page we're on," he said.

Hund also said stimulus funding is going to schools for the next couple years, but after that funding could be very slim.

Board members mentioned that Schools For Fair Funding, an organization of school boards that sued the state for additional funding a few years ago, is seeing a membership increase during the current crunch.

Mahan said the cost is $2 per student, which would run USD 329 between $900 and $1,000 to join, but would contribute to the legal effort to restore funding for schools. He added that the organization has changed from representing mid-to-larger-sized schools to representing schools of all sizes.

Board members agreed to continue the discussion in November and to invite State Senator Laura Kelly and State Representatives Mike Burgess, Richard Carlson and Barbara Craft to the meeting.

High School Principal Larry Andersen gave his report and commended his staff for working all day Monday in a building with no heat. He said the building's temperatures ranged from 59 to 59 degrees and the teachers donned hats, coats and gloves and kept working.

"It was really cold in that building," he said.

He said the building's boiler is an old system and has to be turned on carefully to be sure the pressure doesn't blow the pipes, and he said he hoped to have it working in time for classes on Tuesday.

Andersen also said he followed up on a concern from a parent who saw students pretending to drink a beer at the football field.

Andersen said he found the pictures and determined that the beer was an old can that had been found and the students were not on school property. He said other than being goofy the students didn't do anything.

However, he said he did investigate the situation and is working to teach the students that things they post online can be found and viewed.

"Larry, I want to thank you for your work on this," Hund said.

Andersen also said the school now is in a new set of district pairings and had a bad deal in the final game of the season.

He said Valley Falls made a commitment to WHS immediately for week nine as games were paired and backed out at the end of the time. The only team still open for week nine at that time was Christ the King Academy in Shawnee Mission.

Andersen said he was not pleased about how the pairings ended. He also said he continues to look at league possibilities for WHS.

"I'm getting a lot of parents talking to me about this," he said. "The numbers are going to continue to go farther apart."

He said some sports could retain ties to the Mid-East League but he would like to see the football, basketball, volleyball and other teams in a league where the population trends don't differ so widely.

He also asked about a proposed graduation date change to Saturday and whether anyone had or had heard any concerns. The main one voiced was a possible conflict with K-State graduation.

Earl Stuewe, with the Mill Creek Cowboys, discussed the board's agreement to lease the organization land on the district's property.

"You guys are nice enough to lease us the ground where the arena is for $ 1 per year," he said.

He said the group keeps $1 million in liability coverage on the facility, which it is working to rebuild.

Stuewe said they are looking at putting new lights in because bulbs no longer are available for the old ones.

The board gave the Mill Creek Cowboys the go-ahead on the lights.

The board also voted for Hund to serve as the delegate to the KASB convention, celebrated with Hund for his receipt of an Honor Level One certificate from the board, approved employments and resignations and briefly discussed the daycare.



Copyright 2009 The Wabaunsee County Signal-Enterprise, Alma, 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 Wabaunsee County Signal-Enterprise Alma, 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.

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