By Quinn O’Hara
The USD 379 Board of Education met on the evening of July 15 for their regular meeting.
USD 379 Community Engagement Coordinator Matt Weller presented his goals for the upcoming year and on ways the district can improve stakeholder engagement and transparency with the community.
The Board accepted a donation from the family of Virginia Graves, a longtime paraeducator at Garfield Elementary School who recently passed. Her family gave the district $1,000 and asked that the money be used to purchase a tangible item that can impact the students and staff of Garfield Elementary for years to come. Miltonvale Lumber also donated $100 for Lincoln Elementary School’s Marathon Club T-shirts.
The Board approved a grant writing request from Garfield Elementary Teacher Stefanie Lane for the purchase and installation of a large communication board on the Garfield Elementary playground. The board would feature several pictures with captions such as “stop,” “yes,” “no,” “hungry,” and others. The board would help nonverbal students be able to communicate with teachers and classmates on the playground.
Board Member Linda Sleichter expressed her thanks to Andrea Gibson and the rest of the District Office Staff for their work on the yearly budget. She also thanked the sponsors and coaches for giving their time to students over the summer. Board Member Andy Auld thanked the grounds team for working in the recent heat.
USD 379 Superintendent Brett Nelson reported on current kindergarten enrollment rates for the 2024-2025 school year. Nelson’s report stated that, “the number of families that attended [kindergarten] round-up and or have contacted the school to attend kindergarten is
extremely low right now, especially when you compare it to our outgoing senior class from last year.” Nelson added that, “while [the district] usually picks up a few families during enrollment, it isn’t typically significant.” He said he hopes that changes this year. Nelson also reported that USD 379 is now accepting bids for the 2024-2025 Tiger House Lumber Package.
The Board voted unanimously to give final approval to authorize district staff to submit estimated tax rates to the Clay County Clerks as presented. The Board voted unanimously to approve the 2024-2025 school year appointments as presented. The Board voted unanimously to approve policy updates to include the most up to date Kansas Association of School Boards recommended policies. The Board voted unanimously to approve the 2024-2025 building staff handbooks as presented. The Board voted unanimously to approve the 2024-2025 Substitute Handbook as presented. The Board voted unanimously to approve a 4% salary increase for salaried employees not covered by the Negotiated Agreement for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The Board voted unanimously to approve the purchase of seven bus radios from Homman Electronics in the amount of $19,950. The Board voted unanimously to approve the 2024-2025 student and adult meal prices as presented. The Board voted unanimously to approve the cooperative agreement between USD 334 and USD 379. The agreement will allow 6th through 12th grade students currently residing in USD 334 to attend school in Clay Center. The Board voted 6-1 to approve adding a full-time library aide at the Wakefield School for the 2024-2025 school year.
Board Member Linda Sleichter opposed the measure. The Board voted unanimously to approve a 4% increase for the superintendent’s salary.
USD 379 Board of Education meetings are open to the public. They are held on the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. Recordings of each meeting are available on the USD 379 Board Clerk YouTube Page.
