The USD 489 Board of Education met on Nov. 25 to discuss the agenda for their bi-monthly meeting.
After one public comment, the board recognized the unified bowling team for qualifying for state and placing second at state.
The board then discussed the status of the bond projects, including the additions to Roosevelt Elementary School and O’Loughlin Elementary School, plus the new high school building.
For Roosevelt, the board discussed the planned ribbon cutting ceremony on Dec. 2, and they also unanimously approved a purchase of new furniture for a price of $169,411.57. For O’Loughlin, the board learned the planned addition will start construction in January 2025. As for Hays High, Nabholz Construction will attend the next board meeting to provide an update on construction.
After that, the board discussed several items, including staff negotiations, board software and cell phone policies, all of which will continue being discussed at later meetings.
The board then approved a bid from Nex-Tech for $53,789.25 to update door locks for better security on different schools before discussing the sale of Lincoln Elementary School.
The sale of Lincoln was a main topic, with some board members wanting to further discuss the value of the school property and the bids from buyers, as some members felt the property was worth more money than offered. Ultimately, the board approved the sale of Lincoln to Turn-Key Property Solutions for $850,000, with five members voting in favor of the sale, and two members, Allen Park and Derek Yarmer, voting against the sale.
The next topic was whether to record the work sessions of the board in order to look back at past meetings or missed meetings, but the motion failed, 3-4. After that, the board discussed retirement notifications and surplus property, including the sale of a retired bus, with the motion to sell it passing 7-0.
Following an executive session, the board adjourned at 8:38 p.m., with the next meeting scheduled for Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Rockwell Administration Center.
25jhouchen@usd489
