In its last regular meeting of the year, the Geary School Board made some weighty topics into child’s play.
On the agenda was a resolution dealing with purchasing and selling for the board, and who should have that authority. Essentially, the move was a requirement in the form of a resolution so that Superintendent Sean Buchanan can sign documents at property closings. That has become a necessary authorization since the school district has purchased one property for teacher housing and will close on a second one this week. That property will still need to be remodeled.
Once that matter was determined, the board moved ahead to the discussion of playground equipment. That equipment would replace old style metal slides and add swings to the elementary playground. The swings there were removed since they were all broken. Buchanan simply wanted to show the board what something as basic as a swing set could cost and get direction from them.
“So does the board want me to gather quotes or do we seek a bond?” Buchanan asked.
“That’s a good question,” quipped board member Jason Bernhardt. “You’ve got us all stumped.”
The larger question is whether the district uses its limited funds to replace equipment and improve buildings or seek smaller bonds to finance projects. Buchanan pointed out the district has had to replace eight heating, cooling and ventilation systems this year and that kind of expenditure is not sustainable year after year.
In the end, the board asked Buchanan to gather more information on the needs of the district and proceed from there. Member Taylar Burns said since the equipment in question was moveable, it should be replaced and later moved if a new campus is built.
“It is very important to me that we represent what the community wants,” Buchanan said. The district has asked twice in recent years for a bond issue to build an entire new campus north of the town, but the question was voted down each time.
The board then went into executive session to decide on hiring personnel. Those hires were Lucas Moyers, a certified high school and middle school art teacher, and Brock Lucas, a certified high school and middle school teacher and coach.
The board also evaluated Superintendent Sean Buchanan. Buchanan is in his second year in the superintendent’s office, elevated from elementary school principal to replace Todd Glasgow as superintendent in 2021. Buchanan joined the Geary district in 2017. He was previously a teacher at Mountain View/Gotebo and Weatherford.