Exciting happenings are now being set in motion for USD 251 North Lyon County after an extensive December Board of Education Meeting Wednesday evening.
The meeting – lasting over three hours long – covered a wide variety of topics. Interim Superintendent Mike Mathes says the meeting was very productive.
As Mr. Mathes stated, several reports were given from different school programs, but arguably the most important item on the agenda was the superintendent search report given by the Kansas Association of School Boards.
KASB organized a community-wide survey asking district patrons questions regarding their preferences in a new superintendent, as well as inquiring their opinions on the state of the district and what they view as needing the most administrative attention.
To summarize, USD 251 community patrons felt:
*The new superintendent must be transparent, an effective communicator, and involved in the local community.
*The new superintendent must represent themselves according to district standards and hold USD 251 employees to the same standard.
*Near-unanimous agreement that aging facilities require the most attention.
*A divisive Board of Education/community on certain issues presented the largest concern.
Taking all of this information into consideration will be a trying task, but the KASB act in a supporting role for USD 251 assisting in the process from beginning to end. The process for hiring a new superintendent will begin shortly after the winter break, says Board President Matt Horton.
Other notable items on the agenda included a vote to purchase a new snowplow truck to replace the old one, an executive session by the board including Mr. Mathes, and discussions of conferences for board members to attend.
