By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board approved a request to purchase an IP-based public address, paging, bell and emergency notification system for O’Loughlin and Felten elementary schools at its meeting Monday night.
The bid was $41,754 from Nex-Tech, which was the only bidder.
New equipment was needed at O'Loughlin to cover the new additions. Equipment from Wilson school was moved to Felten, but the school is larger and additional equipment was needed.
Board member Allen Park said he heard from a local company that had not heard about the bid request.
Chris Hipp, assistant superintendent for business, said the request for bids is placed on a national system that can be seen by anyone.
Park refused to disclose the name of the company he spoke with.
Superintendent Ron Wilson said, "We can't make people bid."
The board will also:
• Approved the classified handbook
• Heard the first reading of the administrator handbook.
Board member Jayme Goetz said she was concerned that the 22 days of paid vacation for administrators was not proportional to the amount of days that teachers receive. Teachers are eligible for four to six days of vacation during the school year.
She said she would like teachers to be eligible for more paid time off.