By all accounts, the Geary School District is off to a very good start to the school year.
At the regular meeting of the school board, the leadership heard that the attendance at the elementary school was great, parent conferences are set for next week and the teachers are pleased with where the students are as far as retention from last year is concerned.
The district transportation manager came to the board and asked to re-institute a few town stops on the bus routes. The practice had been discontinued a year or so ago because the bus was stopping at nearly every home in town, increasing the cost for fuel, maintenance and driver salaries, which are based on time behind the wheel. This request is not that.
Instead, the idea is that a few centralized stops would be instituted on existing bus routes coming in from the outlying areas. State law does not require in-town transportation, but the concern is that very young children are crossing the busy highway, darting through heavy truck traffic. The suggestion was to add one stop near the apartments on Countyline Road and one near the Family Dollar store.
Board president Afton Jameson said she was fine with adding the stops, but if centralized stops were added on the east side of town, there needed to be one on the west side as well. After a bit of discussion, the solution was to add a stop near the former nursing home on the west side of Geary.
“Just as long as there are designated stops on both sides of town,” Jameson said. The idea carried and the centralized stops should be instituted very soon.
In other business, the board tabled the matter of an upgrade to the existing school electronic marquee on the highway in front of the high school. A new sign would cost between $40,000 and $50,000 since the technology in the existing sign is outdated.
The signage topic was tabled because the idea of demolishing the old superintendent’s office and home economics buildings and replacing them with multiple classrooms was also on the agenda.
This plan, unlike the issue of building a new campus, is less controversial in the community because it could be paid for out of ARPA – American Rescue Plan Act, commonly referred to as COVID – funds.
Superintendent Sean Buchanan said the district had about $1 million in ARPA funds that must be used before Dec. 31, 2024. The suggestion is to build six or eight classrooms without disturbing the existing high school.
“This isn’t local tax money, it’s not community money, it’s not county money, this is federal funding,” Buchanan explained.
“We’re not tearing down the high school so there is no sentimental attachment. We’re taking down the dilapidated home ec building and superintendent’s office and a parking lot,” he finished.
Board member Taylar Burns asked whether there was space and funding for a safe room.
“A storm shelter is a huge need,” she said. Buchanan said there was room for a safe room, and that there is the possibility one of the classrooms could be constructed as a safe room.
Buchanan said his plan was to go to several project manager firms and essentially ask what could be constructed for about a million dollars. The drawings would have to be completed by the end of this year and construction would have to begin in February so that it could be completed before the funding is withdrawn. Any additional costs, Buchanan noted, such as running utilities and water/sewer lines could be covered by funds the district already has in the building fund.
The board passed the measure unanimously.