USD 383 Board of Education

Jan. 23, 2013
Kathy Dzewaltowski, observer

The board received an update on the artificial turf project for Bishop Stadium.  The MHS Booster Club has $550,000 in commitments from donors.  Dick Edwards has committed to $250,000, Manhattan Surgical Hospital committed to $200,000, and Steel and Pipe committed to $100,000 in donations.  There is also another anonymous donor contributing $50,000.

Board members also approved a resolution in support of the renewal of the second count date for military students.

PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT ADVISORY BOARD REPORT
January 23, 2013   4 PM

    Many of the old Health Department Board members have consented to be on the new Board.  These members having experience with ongoing Health Department issues provide an easier transition to the new Board. There is also a good representation from most of those concerned with health issues in the County.

The following are members of the Board: (the * indicates old members)

 * Paul Bennes, Physician/Fort Riley Public Health Director   
   Michael Cates, KSU Public Health Program Director
   Judy Wagner, VP  Mercy
   Brad Starnes, Superintendent USD 378 Riley County
   Mary Beth Reese, Retired Social Worker USD 383
   * Derek Mosier,  KSU DVD
   *  Rick Fulton DDS
   *  Karen McCulloh, Community Representative
   *  Debbie Nuss, Community Representative
  Ginny Barnard  Riley County Extension

Ginny Barnard agreed to act as Chairman.

    There are also members who will represent users
of the department and other community representatives are currently being sought.
 
   Kristin Cottam, a young mother client of the HD
   Deanell French, a child care provider
   Sarah Eckstein,  a qualified Mental Health Professional
   Maria Garcia Baquero, Spanish interpreter

Still to be recruited:
   A family planning client
   Mother and Infant client

Cary Herl, MD continues as RCHD medical director

The Health Department attendees included:
   Susie Kufahl, Administrator/Health Officer
   Mindy Robbins, Asst. to the administrator
   Lisa Ross, WIC supervisor
   Katy Vaughn, Health Educator/Accreditation coordinator

Also on board:
   Connie Satzler, Envisage, as Consultant

Bob Boyd, new elected County Commissioner, also attended this meeting.

    After introductions, an informal discussion of the purpose of the Board commenced on the request of board member Rick Fulton.  No decisions were made but it was suggested that the
Board act as a supporter of and perhaps even carry out lobbying
for the department. There was also discussion of ways of making the Health Department more well known in the community. Susie Kufahl, Administrator felt that the Board could help with budget issues and the upcoming accreditation. 

    Katy Vaughn, Coordinator of the accreditation effort then
introduced her plans some of which have already begun such as  an opinion survey.  There are also plans for focus groups plus the gathering of objective data concerning the demographics of the County and the prioritizing of needs.

    The accreditation will end with the planning of how to address the top health concerns.

Submitted by Sue Cohen
 

Riley County Commission January 28, 2013

 Joan Srickler, observer

All Commissioners present, Lewis presiding.

An Eagle Scout proposal was presented which would create a sign to be placed in front of the Carnegie building at Courthouse Plaza documenting the building’s historical significance.   The Commissioners asked to hear more of the plans as the project is developed.

Commissioner Boyd expressed concern that it appears post offices in Riley, Leonardville and Randolph are being considered for closure.

Extension Director Jennifer Wilson encouraged interested persons to sign up for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.  The assistance is available  at the Manhattan Public Library.  Interested persons must make an appointment through her office.

Cheryl Collins, Director of the Riley County Museum, noted that this Kansas Day on January 29, we will celebrate 152 years of statehood.

Robbin Cole, director of Pawnee Mental Health, gave a brief overview of her agency and the mental health system generally.  Pawnee is one of 27 mental health centers in Kansas.  In addition to counseling and support Pawnee offers 24 hour crisis services and provides psychological evaluations prior to determining a patient’s eligibility for treatment in a State hospital. 

Funding cutbacks over the past several years have caused a drop of about 25% in the number of Pawnee’s employees.  She noted there has been an increase of 126% in the number of mentally ill persons incarcerated in jails and prisons in Kansas.  Commissioner Boyd asked Cole to pull together a report on the costs to the County resulting from the incarceration of persons with mental illness.

County Counselor Clancy Holeman spoke of concerns the Kansas Association of Counties has regarding proposed legislation being discussed at the State level.  Some efforts mentioned would freeze county tax dollars, others would result in deep cuts in tax funds available to counties.  The possible impact of exempting business equipment and machinery from the tax rolls would be particularly devastating to the counties.

The Commissioners agreed to pay for aerial photography mapping of the County to help guide property evaluations and other county needs for such information.   The Commissioners encouraged Nall to check with nearby counties to see if they would be interested in sharing the cost of such projects.  The mapping must be done on a yearly basis and completed prior to the trees leafing out in early spring.

Emergency Management Director Pat Collins described an online training program called Target Solutions developed to instruct volunteer firefighters.  The program will be used to supplement the hands-on training already provided volunteers.

 

 

 

 

Riley County Commission Jan. 24, 2013

Joan Strickler, observer

Commissioner Dave Lewis chaired the meeting with newly elected Commissioners Ron Wells and Robert Boyd also present.

The Commissioners considered a long list of action items on the agenda including out of state travel, purchase authorizations, and board appointments.

County Attorney Barry Wilkerson provided an overall update of activities in his office.  At the beginning of the previous year the attorneys were dealing with five pending murder cases.  This year only one such case is pending.  He expressed concern about problems Mercy Hospital is having in filling the vacant position of someone to perform exams in sexual assault cases.  Some 13 such victims had to be taken to Topeka for exams as well as one to Salina and one to Wichita.  This results in considerable costs in travel and witness fees as well as requirements on police officers who must travel with the victim.  Commissioners suggested checking with nearby counties and with the Riley County Health Department to see if another resource can be found.

The Commissioners discussed the various Commission board assignment responsibilities they must share.

County Clerk Rich Vargo explained the County’s Professional Appearance Policy.  It was agreed to continue the policy as in the past.

Information Technology/GIS Director Robert Nall described the overall function of his office.  His personnel provide assistance to all County agencies as well as a considerable number of other entities in the County.

County Counselor Clancy Holeman reported he has registered as a lobbyist with the State.  While many of the issues dealt with in the Legislature of concern to Riley County will be dealt with through the Kansas Association of Counties, there are some issues that affect Riley specifically.  Overall there is serious concern among local government entities that actions being proposed at the State level could result in serious loss of tax income at the local levels.

Riley County Museum Director Cheryl Collins introduced her staff who described the functions of their various assignments.  The Museum currently preserves approximately 50,000 artifacts relating to the history of the County.  She invited the Commissioners to have lunch at the historic Wolf House.  The date of February 4 was agreed upon.

Susie Kuhfahl, director of the Health Department, described the various functions and responsibilities of the Department.

Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr gave a general update on City operations.  He said the expansion of the water plant and the continuing health of the aquifer Manhattan depends upon assure that Manhattan’s water supply is doing well.  There appears to be continued growth in the demand for single family and multi-family housing.  With the transfer of land from the State to the Federal Government for the building of NBAF, more construction activity should be getting underway shortly.

 

USD 383 Board of Education

Jan. 16, 2013
Kathy Dzewaltowski

The board held a public hearing on the elementary schedule.  The people who addressed the board were district teachers and administrators, and they all spoke in favor of providing elementary teachers with more planning time and collaboration time.  The elementary principals who commented to the board said that teachers need collaboration time to become more proficient in using technology and to learn from other teachers' expertise.  Doug Messer, Director of Transportation, said that the early release days will be a challenge for busing, especially since many of the district's bus drivers have other part-time jobs or are college students, but the challenge would not be insurmountable.  The board plans to discuss the elementary schedule again during a work session in February.

USD 383 Board of Education

Jan. 9, 2013
Kathy Dzewaltowski, observer

Dean Youngers, project manager for the MHS construction project, reported that the project is complete, and he brought the final paperwork from the contractor and the architect.  The MHS project had a guaranteed maximum price, and unused funds would be returned to the district.  A savings of $61,405 would be returned, and the board approved 5-0 to accept the change in funds.

Board members discussed a resolution regarding the military student second count date.  For several years, school districts near military installations that are impacted by military students have been provided with a second student count date in February.  The second count date is set to expire at the end of the 2012-13 fiscal year.  The superintendents of Geary County Schools, Ft. Leavenworth, and USD 383 drafted a resolution to encourage legislators to continue the second military student count date.  Board members thought the proposed resolution needed to explicitly state that the second count date should be extended.  The board decided to table the resolution until its language could be tweaked to reflect the board's suggested changes.

The board held a public hearing to discuss MHS's class schedule.  A committee had met for several months to examine the schedule and had recommended three options.  MHS math teacher Ray Kujawa spoke during the public hearing and said he favored keeping the current seven hour schedule.  He said that other teachers as well as himself felt that they hadn't been given a clear reason why the schedule should be changed, and students have been achieving with the current schedule.  Doug Messer, Director of Transportation, said that changes to the MHS schedule would require adjustments and shifts to the overall transportation system.  Currently, the district does not have enough buses to transport students on the "late start" days planned for one of the schedule options, nor enough specialized buses (e.g. buses with lifts) to transport students to "zero hour."  If additional buses were purchased and drivers were hired, the district doesn't have the space to park additional buses.  Dave Colburn said that one of the reasons the board was looking at different options for the MHS class schedule was due to issues with equity between the different grade levels in terms of planning, collaboration, and professional development time.  It might be possible to rearrange the MHS schedule and save money, with the savings used to provide the elementary level with more planning and collaboration time.  The MHS schedule topic was for discussion only, and the board plans to discuss it again in two weeks.