School board is updated on upcoming bleacher, student parking lot projects

    Chase County Schools board members learned last week of updates on two major projects ahead at the school.
    New bleachers will be installed in the Longhorn gym later this year. In the other project, bids are expected this fall for paving and the addition of spaces in the student parking lot, east of the school with work possible in 2024.
    Supt. Adam Lambert informed board members at the July 11 meeting the bleachers are still on track for installation between the volleyball and basketball seasons this November.
    Board members preferred an orange and black color scheme for the bleachers after reviewing four options.
    In his report, Lambert said the next step will be for the company to conduct an on-site visit to make sure all bleacher measurements are accurate.
    In February, the CCS board contracted with Wilkins Architecture Design Planning LLC of Kearney for $22,000 to put together plans for the bleacher design.
    Board members reviewed preliminary drawings from engineer Miller & Associates on the parking lot plans.
    An estimated 90 new spaces will be added south of the student lot, which is also used for evening activities.
    Those will be added to the 175-180 current spaces, and all will be paved and lines painted. Additional lighting will be added, as well.
    There was some discussion at the meeting on adding additional parking directly east of the lot, too, but there are concerns there with low elevations.
    The board’s building and grounds committee will continue to work with the engineer on the final plans before bids are advertised this fall.
    Supt. Lambert reviewed other work underway or completed this summer:
    New carpet in the high school classrooms is installed.
    Floors in the Longhorn and Shorthorn gyms have been refinished and traffic will be allowed on July 24 after being closed for 15 days.
    Stucco on the building’s north side is being repaired after hail damage.
Bus routes still in question
    While it’s good news three people have finished classes for school bus driver certification, Supt. Lambert said as of now there will still be no in-town bus service this fall.
    He said two of the three people will drive daily routes, and one expressed interest in being a substitute driver. Three route drivers have left the staff since September.
    At the June meeting, board members discussed the cancelling of the in-town service.
    One of those questioning the move last month, board member Jeff Olsen, asked the superintendent for updates last week
    “Has there been any movement on that? What’s the chances of a town bus route?” he asked.
    “I don’t have a guess right now, I’m hoping yes but I’m not going to give a definitive,” Lambert said.
    Last month, the board talked about the old system when route drivers picked up town students in the morning and dropped them off after school. In the last few years, a separate driver served the in-town pick-ups and drop-offs.
    “We can’t design our routes yet until we know how many drivers we have,” he said.
    Those three done with their classes still have their driving tests to complete.
    Supt. Lambert said three other individuals have expressed interest in driver certification and may be pursuing the classes.

Other school board business
In a change from last month’s vote, board members decided to keep lunch prices the same for 2023-24 as they had been the previous year. Earlier, the board had approved 4% increases across the board, but after reviewing the financials from OPPA! at the July 11 meeting, they decided to roll back to the 2022-23 prices. With $291,000 in the school’s current lunch account, board members indicated they weren’t in the business of making money from the lunch program. That figure includes about $20,000 in family lunch accounts that will carry over to this fall. CCS contracts with OPPA! for its food service. Supt. Lambert said he also sent out a survey to students to get feedback on menu items for the coming year.
Four CCS handbooks for parents-students, activities, teachers and classified staff were approved for 2023-24. A change in the activities handbook regarding student use of alcohol and drugs lowered the penalties for timelines the student has to sit out of activities if found guilty in court of an infraction or self reports, cutting in half what the former penalty was for the first and second offenses. First offense went from 20 days to 10 and second offense from 40 days to 20. A third offense, which removes students from activities the rest of the school year, was not changed. The 9-0 vote noted the new lunch prices will be added to the handbooks along with naming of a CCS behavioral issues coordinator.
A long list of amendments to CCS school policies was approved, based on new legislation passed in the 2023 Unicameral. The amendments involved equal access for student groups, part-time enrollment, option enrollment, school capacity, student discipline, alternative education, graduation, assessments/academic content standards, initiations and hazing, special education, firearms in school which includes concealed carry weapons as banned with all others, collecting info on dyslexia, safe seizure schools, setting timelines for certificated employee resignations, use of naloxone and Artificial Intelligence.
A Contract from Occupational Therapy Services, LLC of Chappell was renewed for the 2023-24 at $79 per hour plus 65.5 cents per mile for travel. Jennifer Reichman is the provider.
The CCS State of the Schools Report and its Multicultural Report, which are updated each school year, were approved. Both are available for review at the CCS superintendent’s office.