With a new fiscal year underway, Great Bend USD 428’s July 14 school board meeting started with the election of board officers. Jacquie Disque will continue to serve as board president and Aaron Emerson will continue as vice president.

The meeting reflected recent changes in administrative titles and job responsibilities. Two administrators who were previously directors are now assistant superintendents.

JoAnn Blevins, formerly the director of teaching and learning, is now assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.

Ashley Riley, formerly director of Barton County Special Services, is now Assistant Superintendent of Special Education - Barton County Special Services.

John Popp continues to serve as assistant superintendent of business and operations.

Khris Thexton’s duties as superintendent were tweaked in the update but he continues to serve as the chief executive officer of the district. Other directors/department heads are Kristy Alvord, Central Kitchen/Food Service; Ryan Axman, Information Technology; Dirk Davis, Maintenance; and Cody Schmidt, Grounds & Transportation.

Budget review

Great Bend USD 428 administration is recommending a 2025-2026 budget that will require $120,143 more in local taxes than last year, Assistant Superintendent John Popp told the school board on Monday.

The board won’t approve a published budget until next month, but Popp provided insight into what it will look like.

A Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) – one where tax revenue stays virtually the same as the year before – would call for a tax rate of 41.472 mills to levy $8,149,781. Because valuations have increased in the past year, a revenue-neutral levy would be lower than last year’s rate of 44.524 mills.

Instead, Popp said the administration will seek an estimated tax rate of 43.166 mills. While that is lower than last year’s rate, the increased valuation means a net gain of $120,143 (total $8,269,923).

In 2023-2024, the district levied $7,865,949 in taxes.

Breakdown

• The budget starts with a state-mandated 20 mill tax imposed by every school district to finance public education. For this portion of the tax bill only, the first $75,000 is subtracted from the market value of the property. Because the 20 mills is a statutory levy it does not change. Otherwise, the RNR would be 18.516 mills. This will raise $3,272,001 for the general fund.

• Next is the supplemental general fund, or local option budget (LOB), with a proposed rate of 15.166 mills. It was 16.654 last year and 14.143 in 2023-2024. This is below the RNR (15.587) and seeks $3,271.967, compared to $3,408,361 last year.

• The final component is the capital outlay tax. The district has the authority to levy up to 8 mills. Although it has levied less than that in recent years, Popp said the administration proposes seeking the full 8.0 mills this year, bringing in $1,725,955. Last year’s rate was 7.87 and the RNR would be 7.369 $1,589,820.

Boiler and HVAC projects

Additions to the Great Bend Middle School HVAC boiler replacement project were approved at Monday’s school board meeting. Innovative Groups, based in Wichita, plans to complete the work over the summer. The boiler is being replaced with a smaller boiler and the air conditioning is moving to the roof. This means the building will gain some indoor space.

Popp explained the changes to the original contract.

“There’s still a live fire in there,” Popp said, referring to the boiler. That means the area needs to be brought to current fire codes by adding a fireproof separation wall that wasn’t in the contract. This will cost $32,874.

Another change will update the thermostat controls for three rooms: band, computer and robotics, enabling each room to have individual control. This will improve efficiency and help maintain consistent temperatures. It will add $6,706 to the project cost.

Lunch tables approved

In March, the school board approved the purchase of 22 lunch tables for Eisenhower and Riley elementary schools to replace their 25-year-old tables. At Monday’s school board meeting, Popp said more schools have since requested new tables. While some were worn out, custodians also made the request after seeing how newer tables are easier to set up and take down. At the high school, round tables with built-in seats will take less time than the current tables and chairs. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) were solicited and the board approved the recommendation to approve the quote for tables from School Speciality under a government contract for $83,466. They will be purchased using capital outlay funds.

There will be 20 12-foot tables for Park and Jefferson elementary schools and 11 10-foot tables with chairs for GBHS. 

“Lincoln Elementary has elected to keep their current lunch tables,” Popp said.