Facility matters were the main highlight of the USD 253 Board of Education meeting Wednesday evening.
This included an update on the new Emporia Middle School track and turf field facility, which, according to EMS Principal Brent Burns, is reaching the home stretch of construction and he has been highly impressed by the scope of work already completed and the speed with which it has been done.
There is still plenty of work ahead at this time, namely the installation of security items, the completion of the new concessions stand, parking lot work and some minor cosmetic work for the new track, the majority of which should be taking place over the next several days.
That said, the facility has already seen a lot of use since construction began back in July, including hosting soccer and football games as well as regular PE activities in recent weeks, with the next scheduled contest, a football game, coming up Thursday evening.
While the facility is not yet complete, and an exact completion date is still pending, students have already expressed their joy and appreciation for the facility, as detailed during Wednesday’s presentation, which included student testimonials praising the quality and enhanced safety of the field and facilities, which were in severe disrepair. EMS Athletics Director and Assistant Principal Matt Baumwart says the positive feedback has not been limited to district students and families, noting that even though there is still work to be done, it has struck a positive chord with visitors.
The board of education approved the multi-million dollar project by unanimous vote back in July, with the project being funded through capital outlay dollars, which can only be used for capital improvement or “brick and mortar” projects such as this.
Separately, but related, board members approved a change order totaling $79,400 for the project for boring water and sewer lines, installing conduits for district use and bringing power to the site, among other items.
In other business on Wednesday, board members approved a contract for the sale of the former Kansas Avenue School building at 315 Market Street. The board approved the sale of the building to Frontier Development Group during its May 14th meeting for $80,000 with $10,000 in earnest money.
Now, four months later, KVOE News asked why it took so long for the contract to be finalized, to which Superintendent Dr. David McGehee, who was not yet on board with the district in May, replied the district and Frontier were ensuring it did its due diligence in taking the deal from concept to reality.
The contract was originally scheduled to come before the board at its next meeting on October 8; however, the timeline had to be accelerated as Frontier needs to be under contract to apply for Kansas Housing Investor Tax Credits and Moderate Income Housing funds, with deadlines of October 3, according to McGehee. As stated by Frontier President Tyler Holloman back in May, the tax credit was one of several contingencies for finalizing the sale, along with the property being rezoned for multi-family use and designated as a Reinvestment Housing Incentive District (RHID).
With that in mind, KVOE News asked McGehee if the district has been entertaining any other offers in the event the sale were to fall through due to any of these contingencies not being met. He told KVOE that the district’s realtor is always entertaining offers, but they are highly confident the deal will go through.
McGehee says the closing date for the deal is set for next September.
In separate business, board members received the latest update on insurance renewals, with the district potentially looking to go from a fully funded to a self-funded insurance plan; however, no decisions have been made as of yet. Board members are expected to make said decisions at their next regular meeting.
Additional details from Wednesday’s board meeting can be found online at the district’s website, USD253.org.
