Proceeds from the sale of the former Maynard Early Childhood Education Center will be going to support building maintenance at Emporia High School following the USD 253 Board of Education’s meeting Wednesday night.
Board members voted unanimously to use the proceeds, $250,000, to fund next summer’s energy-efficient partial roof replacement project at EHS. The decision comes at the suggestion of Gilmore and Bell, who advised the district to use the proceeds to support an “energy-saving project for the district to remain in compliance with IRS guidelines” according to Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations Rob Scheib.
In 2009, the district approved the issuance of Quality School Construction Bonds which funded energy efficiency updates across all buildings. Due to this, each building had a lien placed upon it for the repayment of those bonds.
With the sale of Maynard, Scheib explains the building’s lien has now been transferred to the high school thus providing the opportunity for the district to fund the upcoming roof replacement.
Board members approved the sale of Maynard to Simmons back in August.
In other business, the board received a fall improvement update from faculty of Emporia Middle School. The middle school has three goals in three areas it is looking to accomplish between now and Spring 2023:
Social Emotional Learning: Decrease the percentage of student behaviors that result in In School Suspension (ISS), Out of School Suspension (OSS), or long-term suspension by 10%.
Reading: Increase the percentage of students in levels 3 and 4 from 23.7% to 30% on the English Language Arts (ELA) state assessment by May 2023.
Math: Increase the percentage of students in levels 3 and 4 from 12% to 20% on the math state assessment by May 2023
Eighth-grade science teacher Amanda Schild says EMS’ Student Council has already made great strides on the SEL goal by revising the school’s advisory structure and by emphasizing non-negotiable student expectations.
When it comes to reading and math, Schild says they are placing a higher emphasis on marking texts to increase students’ comprehension and retention of the curriculum while also introducing a new curriculum for mathematics which brings with it a “steep learning curve” for students, staff and parents. With that in mind, EMS is planning to create new resources for parents specifically such as an online portal with tools to help them assist their students.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Eileen Wright spoke to the alleged assault incident that occurred at Emporia High School back in August involving at least one member of the football team. Wright requested the board provide counseling to the “football team” asking the board to “not bury this crisis.”
Superintendent Allison Anderson Harder offered a comment to KVOE News following the meeting, saying the district always has those services readily available for students.
Last week it was announced there would be no felony charges filed by the Lyon County Attorney’s office a day after the conclusion of the football season.
The USD 253 Board of Education will next convene on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 6:30 pm inside of the Mary Herbert Education Center.
