School budget will be republished
Board looks at courses, policy
By Bobbi Mlynar
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
An unanticipated increase in state aid to the Emporia school district will cause the district to republish its original budget and schedule a public hearing, expected to be on Jan. 14.
Assistant Superintendent of Finance Rob Scheib said that an early audit by the state has enabled the district to republish budgets for the general fund, as well as the virtual, bilingual and at-risk budgets to increase budget authority.
All of the increase will come in the form of state aid, not higher property taxes, Scheib said.
The board approved the re-publication motion during a meeting Wednesday evening in the Mary Herbert Education center.
Emporia school district employees will be protected from retaliation as a result of a unanimous vote by the board.
Associate Superintendent of Personnel Theresa Davidson told th board that district auditors had recommended the board enact such a policy.
"The amendment makes it very clear that there can be no retaliation against the employee who reports the theft or fraud and lets them know what the process will be to file that report," Davidson said.
A report can be made to the employee's immediate supervisor, the assistant superintendent of business, associate superintendent of personnel, or the superintendent.
Boad member Mike Helbert suggested the boadr may want to add another option, for employees who cannot make the report to their immediate supervisors.
He said he did not want to weaken the chain of command, but believed there should be an alternative under special circumstances, such as employees reporting on their immediate supervisors.
"But if they don't feel like they can go to their immediate supervisor, there should be some kind of mechanism so they can go above that," he said.
Board members expanded the suggestion to enable an employee to take a complaint about a superintendent to the president of the school board.
Board members split on a 5-2 vote to approve a motion to uphold the results of an administrative hearing held in November. The vote came at the end of a 20-minute executive session on personnel. Information about the administrative hearing was not made public.
The board voted unanimously to approve the 2009 EHS Enrollment Information and Course Descriptions Guide, after reading through changes that were explained by EHS Principal Scott Sheldon.
Among the courses offered to EHS students are advance placement courses -- psychology, sociology, composition and college algebra -- that can, depending upon the enrollment choices made, be used to gain up to 12 college credits.
Elizabeth McCoy, director of the Flint Hills Special Education Cooperative, and staff presented a curriculum report for the board to explain work being done with students in the Lifeskills program.
The students have a wide variance in physical and mental abilities, and are taught according to needs set down in Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for each student.
The staff provided details of the different types of teaching techniques and innovations they use to try to ensure that each student makes progress. As the students age, they also are provided with transitional and independent living training, as well as vocational training and socialization.
The board called attention to the accomplishments of several district employees who recently received major awards.
Jeline Harclerode was honored for receiving the Emporia Master Teacher Award, and will represent the district in the Kansas Master Teacher competition.
Harclerode mentioned other master teachers who had helped her throughout her career, including her husband, John, who was Kansas Master Teacher in 1995.
The Food Service staff received a total of three awards.
Director Jill Vincent was recognized as the School Nutrition Association of Kansas Director of the Year for the district.
The entire department received an Excellence of the Year award as well as a Gold Achievement Award for its week-long "Measure Up to Kansas School Lunch" promotion for school nutrition week in January.Food Service workers held daily events involving measurements, costumes, and other activities to call attention to and educate students about nutrition.
In other action, the board uanimously approved the consent agenda, which included:
-- Staff appointments and resignations
-- Purchase of 26 laptop computeres for Emporia Middle School and 26 laptops for EHS, at a cost of $56,992, to be paid for with technology general funds.
The purchases had been approved earlier but were delayed until the district could determine the effect of Tyson's downsizing on enrollment.
-- Approval of donations from the Emporia Community Foundation of 10 violins for Logan Avenue students and a "Happy Bear" costume for Student Support Specialists to use in the personal safety curriculum.
-- A request for the EHS orchestra to go by charter bus to St. Louis and Chicago for performances and touring June 2 through 7, 2009.
An estimated 54 students, four staff members and four parents are expected to take the trip, at a cost of approximately $750 per person. The trip will be financed through fundraising dinners, concession-stand operations, a benefit concert, added performances and other activities. Some out-of-pocket expense is anticipated for those who participate.
-- Accepted 698 books donated to the district by Gary and Barbara Bleeker at an estimated value of more than $9,000.
-- Purchase of VMware Virtual Infrastructure equipment and software from Dell at an estimated cost of $90,000. The purchase had been scheduled earlier, but was delayed because of potential budget losses after the Tyson downsizing.