HUMBOLDT — USD 258 board members approved construction of a four-bedroom, two-bath house by Humboldt High’s building trades class. AT FIRST blush, enrollment in the district has increased over a year ago with initial figures being 297 in preschool through sixth grade, 150 in middle school and 180 at the high school, a total of 627. Last year’s official count was 590. FOLLOWING a hearing, the district’s 2013-14 budget was approved.
It will be the largest undertaking ever by the students, at nearly 1,700 square feet, and will be built at 1317 Cherokee, near where two other houses were constructed by students.
Supt. of Schools K.B. Criss told board members he thought the larger house would sell quickly.
“We were told (with previous ones) they would have been bought right away if they had had four bedrooms,” Criss said.
He also mentioned the possibility of a basement, which board members rejected.
Board member Sandy Whitaker, who deals in real estate, discouraged a basement, noting that was a feature that often caused problems. Loren Korte, at the meeting to discuss insurance, supported Whitaker. He has a real estate division in his Personal Service Insurance.
Criss said the district would take possession of property where the house will be built on Aug. 22 and plans were to pour its foundation the first week of September. Meanwhile, he said there were chores the students could do on the district’s new sports complex while waiting to begin work on the house.
Korte was at the meeting to discuss insurance, and noted the district’s premium for the upcoming year would increase nearly $20,000 to $79,600.
Board members whittled that down $4,000 by increasing property deduction from $500 to $5,000, and asked Criss to meet with Korte next month to find other savings. Korte said he thought values placed on some buildings might be too high.
Also, he pointed out that adding the sports complex, with a value of $2.3 million, increased property premiums by about $3,000 and general escalation of material and labor costs had pushed up insurance costs.
A few years ago a new roof cost $4,000 to $5,000 to replace, now it’s $10,000 to $12,000, Korte said.
Criss said enrollment would fluctuate over the next month before settling in for the official count on Sept. 20.
He also said work on the sports complex and a new parking lot south of the high school had been slowed by recent rains.
But, “the focus is to have the sports complex ready by the first varsity football game,” Sept. 20 against Neodesha, he said. As for the parking lot, “it should be ready soon and until then we’ll just work through it.”
The overall levy dropped a smidgen, from last year’s 62,962 mills to 62.955. For perspective, a levy of 1 mill raises $1 for each $1,000 of assessed valuation; on a $100,000 home, assessed at $11,500, $11.50 is paid for each mill levied.
Humboldt OKs larger floorplan
