Two Board Members Receive Service to the Board Awards
LaDonna Junghans and Tom Brundgart will both be stepping down from the Geary County Board of Education at the end of December, and the Board will welcome two new members in January. Superintendent Eggleston and Board President Rina Neal presented both members with awards for their dedication and service to Geary County Schools. Junghans has been on the board for 6 years, while Brundgart has served for the past 9 years.
New JCHS Campus Updates
Construction on the new Junction City High School campus is reported as being ahead of schedule. 12,000 square feet of concrete has been poured, and crews are preparing to start building walls in the coming weeks. A committee has been formed to assist in preparing for the transition from the old campus to the new one. The History, Legacy, and Traditions Committee will meet monthly to decide which legacies and traditions should be moved to the new campus.
Grant Reapproved
The Board voted to approve the extension of a grant that assists students with connecting with local business leaders to learn about relevant job skills for future careers. This is the second year USD 475 will be utilizing this program grant.
Audit Report for FY2019
Independent auditors released their report of the audit of USD 475 for fiscal year 2019. Each year, the district is required to have at least 40% of the financial records audited by a third party. This year’s audit report was a ‘very good report,’ as determined by the auditors. USD 475 has a good track record of staying within the designated budget and has excellent record-keeping practices.
District Energy Management Program
USD 475 has approved a 5-year contract renewal with Synergistic, the company that helps the district manage its energy usage. In the last few years, every school in USD 475 has received a designation of Energy Star Certified. The district has reduced its energy consumption by 21%, and has enjoyed an overall energy cost reduction of $2.8 million dollars over that same time. The district will also enjoy a cost avoidance of approximately $1.6 million dollars over the next 3 years, as a result of the energy-saving efforts that are now in place.
ACT Scores and Graduation Rates
The Board reviewed the ACT scores and graduation rates that were recently released. This report will become available to the public in mid-January. It was sent to all educators within the district this week, and plans are being discussed on how the district can implement programs to improve scores.
New Reading Program Selection
The district will be reviewing reading programs in the coming months to choose
a district-wide reading program, which the district is hoping to implement in
the next school year.
New Parent Attendance Notification System
USD 475 will be implementing a new parent attendance and cafeteria balance notification system after the holiday break. The district will use Fort Riley Middle School as the pilot for the program. Once the system is working properly, it will be rolled out districtwide. The district hopes that this new notification system will assist in identifying students with chronic absenteeism.
RFP for Existing JCHS Campus
The district will issue a request for proposal early next year for the existing JCHS campus. The district will ask interested parties to submit proposals for purchasing or leasing the property. A final determination has not been made on the future of the existing campus, and the RFP process will assist the Board with deciding on its future.
The Board of Education will meet again on December 16th for a work session. This will be the last meeting for the Board until January.