By ALICIA FEYERHERM
The Hays USD 489 Board of Education met for a regular meeting Monday.
After approval of the agenda, Superintendent Ron Wilson recognized Hays High School students who were selected for KMEA All-State Choir. Those students were: Anthony Arial, Jordan Aschenbrenner, Carson Brooksher, Kiki Gonzales, Nate Henderson, Devlyn Jochum and Samantha Vesper.
Gina Johnson, fifth-grade teacher at O’Loughlin Elementary, was also recognized for being the 2021 Kansas Master Teacher.
“Gina is considered an outstanding educator in our district and very much deserving of this award,” Wilson said.
Johnson has been a teacher for 20 years, with 12 of those years being in Hays.
Director of Early Childhood Services Donna Hudson-Hamilton then gave an overview of programs in the area.
Parents as Teachers serves approximately 75 children prenatal to age 5, is state-funded with a match from the district and has universal enrollment.
Early Head Start serves families in Ellis, Rush, Rooks and Russell counties. The program has 27 federal slots, 24 Kansas Early Head Start Child Care slots and 41 Kansas Early Head Start Home-based slots. The programs are based on age and income eligibility.
For children ages 3 to 5, four different options are available.
Head Start serves 123 3- and 4-year-olds in Ellis, Rush, Rooks and Russell counties. This is a federally funded program with a local match and eligibility is based on age and income. Services are free to families.
State pre-kindergarten serves 3- and 4-year-olds in the Hays school district, and eligibility is based on “at-risk” factors such as children living in single-parent households.
Early Childhood Block Grant supports full-day services for 20 children through Children’s Cabinet and Tobacco Settlement Funds.
USD 489 also has a preschool located in the Early Childhood Connections Complex. The program is tuition based with morning and afternoon slots available.
During Wilson’s superintendent report, he reviewed current House and Senate bills related to education.
The House K-12 Education Budget Committee recommended HB 2662, establishing the parents’ bill of rights and academic transparency act, requiring extensive posting of materials and information on school district websites. The bill was not considered by the House but was referred to the Appropriations Committee and is now exempt from deadlines, so it is still in play. The Senate has held hearings on several related bills, but none have been recommended by committee.
Wilson stressed the importance of funding special education programs and says he hopes that in coming years, more legislation will be passed regarding special-ed funding.
“We have to fund special education,” Wilson said. “I’m not just talking for our district. I’m talking for the state of Kansas. It’s going to become critical.”
Board members Tammy Wellbrock, Ken Brooks and Craig Pallister were appointed to the negotiation team for the upcoming HNEA negotiations. Allen Park was nominated as an alternate.
The board approved a bid from M&D Excavating for $34,500 for the addition of an additional parking area at the high school.
The meeting ended with Hays High Principal Shawn Henderson discussing the growing high school and the need for more staff.
Last year, enrollment was at 823 students. Now the school is up to 900 and those numbers are expected to increase in the next few years.
The board approved the proposal to add additional staff members for the 2022-23 school year.
A recording of the meeting can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9v-jFYkogU
The next meeting will be March 28.