The Humboldt Board of Education approved the hiring of Bret Hauser as the high school golf coach and accepted the resignation of Courtney Orth.
Scott Brady stepped down as the golf coach at the end of the season. Hauser will receive $2,987 for the position, in addition to the $44,388 contract he received at the last board meeting to teach high school math.
Orth resigned as the secretary for Humboldt Elementary, where she also served as the Kansas Reading Roadmaps Director. KRR is a program that helps ensure that all children graduate third grade reading proficiently, with a special focus placed on kids that grow up in rural areas. Orth was in charge of after-school and summer literacy programs.
A search for her replacement will begin immediately, as she is set to step down in July.
In new business, the board approved the 2019-20 Child Nutrition Program which called for a 10-cent increase in school breakfasts and lunches for students. Children who receive reduced meals, will not be affected by the price hike. Superintendent Kay Lewis said that the increase was needed so the district would break even on meal costs.
Adults who receive school meals will see a price increase of 30 cents for breakfast and a 40-cent increase for lunches.
During the Superintendents Report, Lewis reported that Transportation Director Jack Ellis wants to purchase a 59-passenger bus with a price tag of $86,236. Lewis said the new bus would go off the state bid list.
Lewis said that the bus that transports students to the sports complex for practices is 25 years old and by law the district must get rid of the vehicle.
But, there is a but, she said. Because we are not using it as a route bus, the state says we can take off the stop sign, change the red lights to amber and take the words school bus off and continue to use it. It is still a good bus and we are not driving it very far.
Lewis, along with principals John Johnson and Stephanie Splechter, will go to a meeting in Lawrence on July 17 to learn about TeamMates Mentoring Program. The district was chosen with three additional districts to take part in a pilot program for Southeast Kansas.
Lawrence, Louisburg and Pittsburg, were the other schools chosen for the program.
It would help students meet weekly with their mentor and would help them through some academic challenges, Lewis said. It would benefit some of those middle school and high school kids who continue to be on the academic ineligible list.
The program is designed to give students a mentor that lasts throughout their scholastic careers. The program is used in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.
