Three Emporia High School seniors were recognized by the school board Wednesday for their achievements on National Merit Scholarship tests.
Board president Grant Riles said that Hallie Kretsinger, daughter of Mary and Brock Kretsinger, has been named a semifinalist in the 2007 National Merit Scholarship program.
Mary Yanik and Chase Ihde were recognized as commended students through the program.
Kretsinger is one of 16,000 semifinalists who will compete for 8,200 merit scholarships valued at a total of $33 million.
Yanik and Ihde are among the top 5 percent of students taking the qualifying test.
The board approved a request from Patricia Smiley, director of integrated services, to accept a $102,000 grant from Kansas State University. The five-year grant, awarded on a year-to-year basis, will finance Project Destiny, a high school equivalency program for migrant students.
“We’re one of three sites in Kansas to receive the award,” Smiley said.
The contract for the grant will be available at the next board meeting on Nov. 8. The board approved the request on a 6-0 vote.
The board trimmed $57,733 from a $3.42 million construction project at Emporia High School. Oct. 11, the board approved hiring Rinner Construction of Topeka to build the new fitness and weight rooms at the school and had reserved the right to eliminate or change some aspects of the project that would not affect the quality of the project.
“We felt that these were all changes that could be made that did not hurt the integrity or lessen the quality of the project in any way,” said Susan Hernandez, assistant superintendent of business.
The changes were approved on a 7-0 vote.
The number of board members voting changed during the evening as Kevin Nelson, who had been out of town, joined the meeting in progress. Five board members were physically present throughout the meeting and Mike Crouch, who was out of state on business, attended and voted by telephone.
The board awarded a bid for a van to Ed Bozarth Chevrolet of Topeka on a bid of $19,471, more than $500 under the $20,000 limit set earlier by the board. Susan Hernandez, assistant superintendent of business, said that only one local dealer had sent in a bid for the van, which will be used by the technology department.
“In the meantime, we received a notification from the state that they had state bids coming in on vehicles,” Hernandez said. The prices were checked “and they were very competitive.” She said she contacted Longbine Auto Plaza to see if the bid could be matched.
“At this time, he cannot,” Hernandez said.