CCS will start paying student teachers here

    With an eye on hiring them later on, Chase County Schools will start paying its student teachers.
    The 9-0 school board vote came at the March 14 meeting when board members approved  a $5,500 stipend for student teachers who spend a semester at CCS.
    Elementary Principal Becky Odens said in recent interviews, several college students asked if CCS was providing the stipend.
    Supt. Lambert believes it will help get a foot in the door in finding teachers to fill future positions here. Paying student teachers is a fairly new concept, he said.
    However, Perkins County Schools and Dundy County Stratton both pay student  teachers now, Lambert said.
    As of last week, CCS still had six teaching positions to fill for 2023-24.
    “This will help me in recruiting staff,” Lambert told board members last week.
    Any student teacher receiving the stipend would be formally interviewed and approved first by CCS administration.
    Money would be paid out at $1,100 per month, and a maximum of five paid student teachers per year will be allowed for a maximum annual expense of $27,500.
    Most of the board members who spoke favored the payment.
    “In the past, our student teachers, for the most part, were from our area. This might pull some in from other areas,” said board member Cindy Arterburn.
Longhorn gym bleachers
    In other action last week, installing new bleachers in the Longhorn gym took a step forward.
    Board members voted 9-0 to give Supt. Lambert authority to solicit bids for the bleacher project, expected to happen this summer.
    Jacob Certich with Wilkins Architecture Design Planning of Kearney met via zoom with the board and provided specifics on the project.
    He said from tear-out to finish, the project should take 2-3 weeks. Some of the features he highlighted were:
  The top row of the bleachers will feature fixed flip-up seats that will be 22” wide.
  There will be no big step down on the first step, and the height of each step will be much less than current, or about a 6.65” vertical.
   Aisles between seating will be in the same locations.
   People will be able to reach the first handrail from the edge of the walking track; now the first handrail is three steps down.
  Platforms will be built on the upper corner of the bleachers on each side to accommodate wheelchairs and media.
  First row of bleachers at the bottom will be retractable underneath the second row.
  Seat color will match the auxiliary gym bleachers.
    Bids were expected to go out last week and are due April 6. A possible bid could be awarded at the board’s next meeting April 11.
    Board members approved Wilkens’ $22,000 fee at their February meeting.
East parking lot paving
    Board members also gave Supt. Lambert authority to work with Miller & Associates on a project to pave the student parking lot east of the school.
    This is a project the board’s facilities committee has been looking at for awhile, according to Lambert.
    In addition to the concrete paving, the lot will also be extended further to the south to provide more parking space.
    Board member Carrie Terryberry said it will be expensive, but something that’s been discussed for quite awhile.
    According to Miller & Associates projections, the paving project will cost between $700,000 and $800,000, subject to change once survey data is obtained.
    Estimated cost for Miller & Associates’ work is $26,500, which includes design/bidding services, preparation of a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan and hourly fees as needed for surveying and other engineering services.
    Two other engineering firms submitted proposals on the project. Miller & Associates was low bidder.
Other business
    The board approved purchase of a 2024 Freightliner Thomas 47-passenger route bus in the amount of $104,890.
    While 14-20 students ride the route busses on average, Supt. Lambert said they are required to have busses with enough seats to accommodate all students who live on the routes,which average about 30 per route.
    Two other bids were received, but the Thomas bid was the lowest.
    In his report, 7-12 Principal Christopher Barr reported they are looking at a middle school tardy program to help incentivize being on time. Middle school students now face no consequences if arriving at school late, he said. All staff members are looking at potential program pieces.
    He also noted students and parents met with Karen Baker who directs the county’s Truancy and Diversion Program. He noted several CCS students have exited the program in good standing.
    Barr also introduced his wife, Amanda, who was at the meeting. She was in town visiting her husband from Alaska, where she is math curriculum coordinator for the Anchorage School District.
    The board met about a half hour in closed session on potential/threatened litigation.