Maynard Early Childhood Center is officially closed and may have a new owner soon.
The USD 253 Board of Education conducted a brief public hearing related to the Maynard closure Wednesday evening before members unanimously approved a resolution to formally close the facility at 19 Constitution Street. This comes just two weeks before the grand opening of the new Jones Early Childhood Center constructed as part of the multi-million dollar Building for the Future renovation project.
Superintendent Allison Anderson Harder says with the new facility complete, there is no reason for the district to keep a building they have no need for. With that in mind, the board also gave approval for the district to begin reviewing bids for the future sale of the facility.
Anderson Harder couldn’t say what will become of the building in the future but tells KVOE News they are “looking at everything.
A timeline for the sale of the property has not been announced, however, Anderson Harder expects it will come sooner rather than later as there has been a large amount of interest expressed in the facility in recent months. Funds from the sale will be put towards capital outlay, however, Anderson Harder says the sale will ultimately come down to what is best for the community and not a dollar amount.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Jones center will be held Wednesday, Jun. 22.
In other business, Village Elementary School was approved to begin implementing education redesign initiatives within the school building. This comes almost two years after the board gave Village approval to apply for redesign as part of the Kansas Department of Education Apollo II cohort.
According to Principal John Martin, the COVID-19 pandemic put a hold on redesign implementation over the past two years. While some would look at the “layoff” as a detriment to progress, Martin feels it was the exact opposite.
Village is just the latest USD 253 school building to gain approval for redesign efforts after Walnut Elementary gained KSDE approval back in February. So far, USD 253 Emporia has had six schools undergo or begin redesign efforts including Village, William Allen White, Riverside, Timmerman, Emporia Middle School and Walnut Elementary.
For more details and information from the board’s meeting Wednesday night visit the district’s website USD253.org. The USD 253 Board of Education will next convene on Wednesday, Jul. 13 at 6:30 pm inside the Mary Herbert Education Center.
