KVSV

Monday March 9 USD 273 Board of Education Meeting

 

Unified School District Two-Seven-Three

March Board Meeting

March ninth, Two Thousand Fifteen

By Terry Bailey

 

The Unified School District Two-Seventy-Three met on Monday, March ninth for their regular monthly business meeting.

In his opening report, Superintendent Jeff Travis discussed the latest word from Topeka and how our elected leaders are making plans for educating the youth of Kansas. According to Travis, the latest proposal causes significant problems for the poorer districts and some problems for everybody else. Block Grants are being touted as the fix-all for the huge deficit of the state budget. Originally, the figures indicated Beloit would lose approximately four hundred thousand in next year’s budget. Current numbers indicated a loss of only two hundred five thousand. At this point it is hard to determine what other action will be taken by the legislature.

Travis told the Board that work has been at a virtual standstill on the Elementary School addition. The workers are awaiting building supplies and the steel frame of the building. He expects it to be on site by March twenty-seventh and work should speed up at that point. Currently the job is four weeks behind schedule.

Because of the budget concerns there will most likely be no summer school in Beloit this summer.

Student Council President R.J. Jackson gave the Board an update on STUCO activities. The last Blood Drive was successful at the high school. Each senior student who donated blood will have his or her name entered into a drawing. The winner will receive a two hundred fifty dollar scholarship.

Jackson reminded the Board that the Beloit Lady Trojans will play no earlier than eight fifteen Wednesday night in Hutchinson. He asked the Board to consider a two hour late start on Thursday. The band will be going and will play up to and through the end of the game. Best estimates indicate that it will be at least midnight or later before students, fans, and athletes will return to Beloit from Hutchinson.

Beloit Special Education Coop Director Karen Niemczyk reported that an attempt to gain support from all the cooperating districts to share in funding of the Boy’s Town Education Model training had been unsuccessful. The superintendents are being very cautions with spending issues in light of the uncertainty of legislative action.

Assistant Principal Casey Seyfert gave the Board an update on spring sports participation numbers. The Junior High has eighty-four boys and girls out for track. High School softball has about twenty-six girls out for that sport. High School Baseball has twenty-nine athletes at this time. Seyfert expects that about sixty boys and girls will participate in high school track. The golf team is expecting fifteen players.

In order to provide adequate coaching and supervision of these programs, the Board hired Curt Christians as a junior high track coach and Tegan Dunstan as an assistant softball coach.

High School Principal Darrell Moore told the Board that the participation rate for the Spring Semester parent teacher conferences was a disappointing fifty-three percent.

Beloit had fifty-four junior high students participate in the Hays City Music Festival

The Junior High Scholars Bowl has finished their season. The team was composed of seven eighth graders and four seventh graders.

Mr. Callaway and his students had a very successful celebration of National FFA Week with several activities.

Jasmine Turley qualified for State Competition in Poetry at the Southeast Meet.

The FCCLA Club made seventeen blankets for the Humane Society in Salina and they will be used for animal care.

Mr. Isbell took the Biology students to Cloud County to visit the cadaver lab. For the first time ever, every student made it all the way through the visit without someone turn green and having to leave.

Moore recommended to the Board that the District utilize the services of the North Cantal Kansas Technical College to offer dual and concurrent classes for the student of Beloit High rather than Cloud County. The Board voted to accept his recommendation.

Elementary Principal Byron Marshall reported to the Board that participation rates for their Spring Semester Parent Teaches Conference was eighty-five percent and he was happy with that number.

Marshall announced that a very important day was coming up. Pre-school enrollment will be conducted on Wednesday March 11.

The Parent Teacher Organization will sponsor a Bingo Night on Tuesday March seventeenth at seven p.m.

The Board entered into an executive session to discuss evaluations for one hour. At the end of that one hour period the executive session was extended for one half hour. No decisions were made.

 

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA