By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board accepted donations from several businesses to build a storage shed at the new high school at its meeting on Monday night.
The three companies below have combined resources to donate materials and labor to construct a 40-foot by 56-foot storage building on the Hays High School/Hays Middle School campus.
• Leitner Buildings–donation of building framing materials
• RM Custom Metals–donation of custom metal to match Hays High brick
• RoofMasters Roofing and Sheet Metal–donation of construction and labor
The district will have to demolish a couple of smaller garden sheds and lay a concrete pad. The district had budgeted $200,000 for this project in its FY 2027 capital outlay budget.
The shed will be used for storage for high school and middle school athletics and activities.
Chris Hipp, assistant superintendent of business services, said, "We can't thank them enough for approaching us and then being so willing to work with us on what our vision was and to make it happen."
Several board members thanked the donors for their gifts.
"I am very grateful for the community reinvesting in the district," board member Jayme Goetz said.
Board member Ruth Ruder said, "Kudos to those three businesses for doing that. We are so grateful."
The board also approved the demolition, regrading and addition of new concrete to a portion of the staff parking lot at Hays Middle School, 2300 E. 13th, to allow for better drainage of water away from the tennis courts.
The $53,100 bid from J-Corp came in under budget.
The tennis courts will be completed by the spring.
Superintendent Ron Wilson will also give a bond projects update.
He said Nabholz Construction is nearing closing in the additions for O'Loughlin Elementary School.
Work is nearing completion on the renovation at the former high school, 2300 13th St., to ready the building for the middle school to move into that space in January.
Hays Middle School teachers toured the school this week.
Wilson said the USD 489 Foundation delivered food donations to district families this week.
The board also recognized the Hays High School unified bowling team, which recently won a state championship.