School board discusses facilties needs

The Unified School District 333 met for its regular November meeting to discuss upcoming facilities issues. Important factors which contribute to why the district might look at expanding their buildings were discussed and a timeline was established for the work on this project.
The Concordia Elementary School, built in 1997, has reached capacity for the students it can serve. As enrollment numbers grow, these classrooms cannot be expanded without additional facilities.  Currently, some of the largest classes reside in this building and the space is getting cramped.
The Concordia High School, built in 1929, is reaching the end of its intended lifespan. These facilities have aged and are soon approaching a point where more work cannot be done to improve them. The junior varsity gymnasium cannot be upgraded much more and traveling through the building is not a straight path. It poses future problems with safety and ease of both use and access.
The third facility in question is the former Concordia Middle School, built in 1964.
It has been recommended by the district's administration to re-open the Middle School as a 4th-6th grade facility. This is one of the larger concerns of the district with these classes having currently, and projected in the future, to have high enrollment.
Factors, such as issues of fire and electrical safety, entrance and exit safety were discussed.
Others facilities concerns discussed included outdated science labs in the junior-senior high school, the junior varsity gymnasium, a large footprint in the junior-senior high school building that is difficult to travel through because of flow, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance needs.
Superintendent of USD 333 Quentin Breese said he would like to have a bond issue to address the science labs, the junior varsity gymnasium, the ADA and the school flow issues.
Superintendent Quentin Breese and the board will meet for a study session, set for November 28 at 6 p.m. to decide what is most needed for the positive growth of this district. This meeting with Mike Mayo, principal architect with Ebert Mayo Design Group Architects & Planning Consultants of Manhattan will discuss the facilities planning that the board hired Mayo's organization to prepare in 2017.
This facilities issue could become a future bond issue for voters to consider.  
Over the next six months, the board will look at the scope of the project and finalize a proposed bond amount. They must adopt a finance plan and create this resolution before the end of June 2019.
Among other action items was the approval of the bids for two new vehicles, to take the place of two vehicles retired from the district fleet. The total for the two bids is $60,997.40 to purchase one 2019 Chevrolet Suburban and one 2018 Ford Escape of state contract. A motion was made by Kevin Pounds and seconded by Steve Wetter to accept these bids and move forward with the upgrade. It passed unanimously, with all seven board members in support.
Also presented was the model of the new band uniforms. The current uniforms were more than 21-year-old and had started to show their age with zippers and buttons breaking, and cuffs fraying. The new uniforms are more wearer friendly and lighter with the same red, black and white designs. The proposal is for eighty new uniforms from Fruhauf Uniforms, Inc., Wichita, at a cost of $47,602.40.
Also discussed are the priority staffing needs of the 2019-2020 school year. The need for making the half-time K-4th grade counselor full-time and the addition of a full-time social worker to help students' social/emotional learning and at-risk families was addressed as well as the hiring of a School Resource Officer.
Future needs also include adding a fifth-sixth grade teacher, a grant writer/media specialist, and ELL/ESL teacher, more paras, reading and math specialists, tech specialist, media specialist and tech curriculum specialist.
Representatives from Trane Inc. attended the meeting, and presented the district a utility rebate check for $10,841.72.
The rebate is a result of the district's $5.5 million bond passed in 2013 to construct a FEMA safe shelter at the Concordia Elementary School along with energy efficient improvements including an HVAC replacement at the elementary school.
Also approved at this meeting were the contracts with Parents as Teachers and LCNCK with USD #379. These motions passed unanimously.
The board accepted two resignations, Bailey Garlow (high school girls' assistant basketball coach) and Karen Neall (transportation) and approved the hiring of Carly Bloomfield (high school girls' assistant basketball coach), Susan Kindel (sub Food Services), Amanda Moon (sub teacher/para), Madison Brockman (sub teacher with license pending).