GEARY – The Geary Public Schools Board of Education could decide to run a bond election at its meeting next month, board members indicated Monday, as the district looks to replace its aging facilities with a single K-12 structure.
The bond discussion came at the end of a meeting held at the high school library that started in the dark due to a citywide power outage. The lights had come back on in time for the board’s executive session, where they discussed personnel matters, and for the bond talk that followed.
Taylar Burns, winner of last month’s school board election, was on hand for her first meeting and took the oath of office when it began. She joins Waylan Upchego, Afton Jameson, Cecil Harrall and board president Jason Bernhardt on the Geary board.
Superintendent Sean Buchanan told the board that he’s been discussing a possible bond with the community since last June, when he was hired to lead the district, and that the issue is ready for a vote. Most recently, the district got more than 120 respondents to an online survey about a possible bond.
About 75% of survey respondents were supportive of moving forward with a bond, Buchanan said.
“There’s two (election) dates left, if you decided that you did want to move forward and maybe look at this,” he said. “There’s two dates left this year where you could run one, and that’s August and November. … If you wanted to do August, we would need to get some things lined up. But it’s doable.”
Board members expressed support for running the election this year and said they would consider which date would be best before their meeting next month.
“I think August would be a good time,” Burns offered. “It’s a new school year, everyone gets excited.”
Upchego said an August vote might seem fast to some Geary residents. “That’s why Hinton’s (bond) failed,” he said. “It had the appearance that they were shoving it down their throat.”
He said the district will need to rally city and community leaders from different backgrounds to mobilize support from all factions of the diverse town.
The board will decide on an election date as soon as next month. The district has estimated that building a new K-12 facility would cost just over $30 million and raise local property taxes about 55%, which translates into a $55 tax increase for those previously paying $100 per year, and a $225 increase for a $500 tax bill.
“I think the community needs to have the opportunity to vote on this and decide what they want to do,” Buchanan said.
Personnel changes
As the 2021-2022 school year draws to a close, the Geary board accepted the resignations of several school employees, hired several others, and was provided a list of returning staffers.
Among the new hires is second-grade teacher Kaylee Ship and Richelle Miller, the district’s new transportation director.
Jason and Bridget Goodknight, who came to Geary from Hinton last summer to coach the Bison football and softball teams, have resigned. Jason Goodknight told the Watonga Republican he is taking a job in Wynnewood to be closer to family.
Other resignations included counselor Dalton Reed, special education instructor Sydney Buckner, Family and Consumer Sciences teacher LuAnn Kuhlman, and elementary PE teacher Brian Archer.