The USD 253 Board of Education took action Wednesday evening that will bypass traditional procedures to address what could potentially be a “life-threatening” issue at a district facility.
Specifically, board members approved Superintendent Dr. Allison Anderson-Harder to utilize the district’s DJFAB Administrative Leeway policy to authorize the purchase of materials to repair a “major electrical issue” at the Operational Services Center located at 2830 West 12th Avenue for a total of more than $35,000. According to Anderson-Harder, it was recently discovered the main power feed through the building exterior wall had begun pulling away from the building leading to wearing on the protective coating and exposing the copper wire within.
As it feeds an 800 amp service, the wiring does pose a “potential life safety hazard to anyone near it.” Given the urgency, the district cannot afford to wait months to address the issue hence Wednesday’s action allowing Anderson-Harder to forgo what would be a traditionally months-long process.
Anderson-Harder says the cause of the issue was determined to be simple wear and tear.
Anderson-Harder added nobody has been harmed as a result of the issue and its discovery was related to electrical issues within the building.
Per their action Wednesday, Anderson-Harder now has the authority to move forward with the greater than $35,000 repair project that will be handled by Gerald Schuman Electric. Repair work is tentatively set to begin on January 2.
In the meantime, the area has been taped off until the necessary repairs can be completed.
In other business Wednesday, board members approved setting a public hearing date of January 10 for the closure of the Kansas Avenue School building. The reason for the closure, in part, is the impending move of Crosswinds Counseling and Wellness, the entity the district leases the building to with Anderson Harder noting in early October there is simply no further need for the building in its current capacity.
Board members would also approve the district’s non-resident student enrollment policy which was discussed at length during the board’s November 8 meeting. The new policy falls in line with the state’s new requirements for districts to accept all non-resident transfers so long as the district can do so. That being said, there are some exceptions to that rule including not having to accept students who have been suspended or expelled from their previous district, a practice he says is nothing new.
The policy will also require all current non-resident students to re-apply with a possibility current non-resident students could not be accepted back based on the number of applications and capacity. However, USD 253 Director of Human Resources Jared Giffin has stated he does not believe that is a likely scenario.
Giffin would also state in November that notable changes to the policy will likely include timetables for decision-making on class sizes, student-teacher ratios, student application collections and final decisions potentially being moved up.
In separate action Wednesday board members:
*Approved bid letting for the Emporia High roof project and accepted several donations as part of the consent agenda where several items can be approved with a single vote.
*Received the latest construction update from McCownGordon
*Approved the guaranteed maximum price for work at William Allen White Elementary
*Approved bids for fixtures, furniture and equipment at Riverside and Timmerman schools.
The USD 253 Board of Education will reconvene for its first regular meeting of the new year on January 10 at 6:30 pm inside of the Mary Herbert Education Center.
