By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays school board approved its budget at its meeting Monday night with a slight mill levy decrease.
The mill levy decreased from 41.241 mills last year to 41.236 mills for the 2021-22 school year.
The school district's valuation increased from $322,681,782 in 2020-21 to $335,274,898 for the 2021-22 school year.
Because the district's valuation increased, the school board had to conduct a revenue-neutral hearing. This hearing is required by law for any entity that has a revenue increase.
Chris Hipp, assistant superintendent of business services, said the district has one of the lowest tax rates in the state.
During the KAYS Morning Show on Monday, Superintendent Ron Wilson said the low tax rate can be attributed to a strong local valuation and the district's lack of a bond.
The district is basing its budget on flat enrollment this year.
The district has been able to sustain about 6 percent in its contingency reserve. The district uses those funds in cases of unforeseen expenses, including to pay a more than $21,000 gas bill the district received after February's cold snap.
That gas bill had been $65,000, but with the help of the Kansas Association of School Boards, the district was able to negotiate the bill down to $21,699.
Board Vice-President Craig Pallister said the Kansas Legislature has long recommended school districts spend at least 60 percent of their expenditures on instruction. He noted the district's budget was well above that at 62 percent for 2021-22.
"I would like to see professional development grow," he said. "Because we say the most important person in that school and that classroom is the teacher. We need to get them training."
Wilson said the district is doing more professional development this year than any year in recent memory. It is using state partnerships to reduce costs to the district.
Casey Herrman, board candidate, said during the public comment period student fees are outrageous.
The carry-over in that fund is $716,000. Herrman said he did not understand why fees remained so high when the fund continues to increase.
See a complete list of the 2021-22 fees here.
Masks
About 30 people attended the school board meeting Monday, many to express their opposition to masks in schools. Nine of those people spoke during the public forum portion of the meeting.
The school district does not have a mask mandate at this time.
Wilson said 17 students have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Monday. Six more are in the testing process. See details of the district's COVID precautions.
HHS, Wilson AC
The board approved engineering contracts with Integrated Consulting Engineers for design work on air-conditioning projects at Wilson Elementary School and Hays High School.
The design fee for the HHS project is $120,000. The Wilson design fee is $52,500.
ICE has done design work for the district before.
The district is not required to send design contracts out for bid. Board member Allen Park said he wished the contracts had been sent for bids anyway.
Wilson said he hoped work could begin on the projects in the spring.
The board also approved the new HHS student handbook.