Great Bend USD 428 Activities Director Matt Westerhaus told the school board about new sports that may soon be recognized by the Kansas State High School Activities Association. But while boys volleyball and girls flag football may become available options, he cautioned the school about adding too many new sports.
He thanked the board for adding competitive activities in the past few years, mentioning unified bowling and now eSports. Those programs allow students who might not have the chance otherwise to represent GBHS in a competitive sports situation, he said.
Now, at the state level, “there is conversation about boys volleyball, and there is conversation about girls flag football,” he said. “I think we need to be very cautious about implementing and how it affects some of our other programs. The more we add, the more we’re potentially depleting numbers that are in those programs.”
The talk about the new programs is gaining momentum, particularly on the east side of the state.
There was also discussion about scheduling concerns. Westerhaus brought up exploring a couple of options: trying to find more schools to join the Western Athletic Conference or looking for potential other leagues to join.
A different USD 428 director gives a report to the school board each month and Westerhaus was up. He brought with him student Trenton Kern, the 5A State Wrestling Champion for his weight class (215). Kern also played football and Westerhaus said, “he’s a model citizen” as well.
A few highlights of his report:
• “We had six new performing arts staff members this year, two at the high school, three at the middle school and one at the elementary. I’m going to give a shout out to Susan Stambaugh, who ... has a wealth of experience. She has been invaluable in being a mentor to those new staff members.” Stambaugh, director of the vocal music program, was also mentioned in a career milestones presentation; she has been with USD 428 for 40 years.
• The choir trip to Washington, D.C. will be over spring break. March 24 at 7:30 p.m., there will be a vocal music concert of grades 6-12 combined at GBHS. During the day, band, orchestra and choir teachers will talk to sixth graders about the opportunities they will have with high school programs.
• The district will need to buy new band uniforms eventually. They were last purchased in 2012 and before that in 1997.
• The National Honor Society students, with instructor Luke Maneth, are planning the Community Service Day on April 22.
• Based on the student headcount of Sept. 20 – 455 boys and 423 girls – GBHS football will be classified as 4A for the next two years, while Great Bend will be a 5A school for everything else.
Summer plans
Great Bend USD 428 will offer summer school this year. Because of roofing work being done, Park Elementary won’t have summer classes but Park students will be able to attend classes at Jefferson Elementary.
Summer Professional Development classes will be available for staff. Last year, 39 teachers used the in-district service.
Assistant Superintendent John Popp said summer projects will also mean the GBHS offices will be closed and the staff will have to work at another location.
Contributions
The board approved the following recent contributions:
• Reward incentives totaling $3,611.72 from Sunflower Bank for the ABC Program will be divided equally, about $516 for each school. More reward incentives:
- GBHS Wrestling, $301.71 from Avast Ye Java (coffee truck)
-GBHS Athletics, $44.90 from Ohiopyle Prints
- GBHS Boys Basketball, $565.20 from My Team Gear
- Eisenhower Elementary, $5.92 from My Team Gear
• GBHS FFA received $300 from High Plains Farm Credit.
Personnel
Three teachers will resign at the end of the school year: Lauren Jordan, fifth-grade at Eisenhower; Zusseth Pinillo, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at GBHS; and Lucas Briseno, sixth-grade teacher at Eisenhower.
The district will hire Denise Zink as assistant director of Barton County Special Services. This is a transfer from her position as a school psychologist.
Schools prep for summer learning
USD 428 BOE meeting at a glance
Here’s a brief look at Monday’s meeting of the Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education.
• Career milestones in the district were recognized, honoring staff longevity in five-year increments. This year, 70 employees reached service milestones representing a cumulative 920 years. Vocal Music Director Susan Stambaugh has worked at Great Bend High School for 40 years.
• This month’s Director’s Report came from Matt Westerhaus, activities director. He also introduced student Trenton Kern, who recently earned a 5A state wrestling title.
• The English Language Arts curriculum for grades 7-12 that was first presented in February was approved. The cost is $269,555 for the MyPerspectives curriculum by Savvas Learning Company. The board also approved spending $4,400 for printed materials for the next curriculum pilot study. Staff will be trying out “Imagine Learning Traverse” a social studies program for grades 9-12.
• The board approved quotes for new fire panels at GBHS, Park Elementary, Riley Elementary and Jefferson Elementary for $201,565, using budgeted money from the Capital Outlay fund.
• A letter was approved as the district updates the Special Services Cooperative agreement with USD 355, USD 403 and USD 431. In order for the Kansas Association of School Boards to provide legal assistance, the board must waive all conflicts that may arise as a result of multiple representation.
• In the Curriculum and Instruction report, Assistant Superintendent JoAnn Blevins said the district is working to prepare for student learning during the summer and that teachers will also have professional development opportunities this summer.
• In the Business and Operations report, Assistant Superintendent John Popp said that because of work being done this summer at Park Elementary School, they will not have classes there. Park students who attend summer school will go to Jefferson Elementary. Popp also reported on the Safety Committee’s work and on project updates.
• The Superintendent’s report by Khris Thexton included a legislative update and the latest grants and contributions for board approval.
