By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Interior work is progressing on the Roosevelt Elementary School expansion while dirt work is happening at the site of the new Hays High School.
Hays USD 489 superintendent Ron Wilson gave a brief report on the progress of the bond projects at the school board meeting Monday night.
The Roosevelt project is in phase three, which includes fireproofing, hanging drywall, insulating pipes and electrical work.
Next week work will continue on the drywall and electrical system.
Dirtwork at the high school will be ongoing this week and next.
Wilson also discussed HVAC work that will be done this summer at O'Loughlin Elementary School. That project will be going to bid soon.
Enrollment
Chris Hipp, assistant superintendent of business services, gave a report on the district's enrollment.
The district's adjusted full-time equivalent enrollment for the 2023-24 school year is 3,152 students, which was larger than the budgeted enrollment of 3,145. Last year's enrollment was 3,144 students.
The district's state funding is based on enrollment. The larger enrollment will mean more state funding for the district.
Hipp said Hays is one of the few districts in western Kansas that is experiencing enrollment growth. For many districts, increases in base state aid are not keeping up with enrollment declines.
Special Ed Co-op
The board authorized the addition of 15 new positions for the special education co-op. The Russell school district will be joining the co-op next year, and the positions will be part of that merge.
An administrator is among the positions. Kyle Carlin, co-op director, said the addition of Russell will add 25 percent more students to the co-op. In addition, the current assistant co-op director has taken on additional duties as the principal at Westside School.
Carlin said the Russell staff will be offered positions equal to the positions they are in now.
The estimated cost of the positions will be $811,000. However, Russell will be paying for a portion of co-op budget when it joins. Hays, Victoria, Ellis and LaCrosse are the other members of the co-op.
Wilson also congratulated Tasha Lang, special education teacher, as the Hays NEA master teacher.