Bid requests for the job of cleaning up the site of the Camp Aldrich dining hall were sent Monday, Barton Community College officials learned Thursday. The college owns the conference center located between Claflin and Cheyenne Bottoms. The dining hall and its basement were destroyed by fire on April 12, and bids for demolition of are being accepted until May 22.
     Dean of Administration Mark Dean said the inventory list for the insurance company has been completed. “We’re making progress,” he said.
     However, the state fire marshal told Dean that the replacement building must have a sprinkler system for fire protection. “We don’t have enough water out there for it,” he said. He is checking on the option of drilling a well that would only be used for fire protection.
     Thursday’s board of trustees meeting was a study session, with no action taken. However, the board also held a special business meeting during the session, so it could approve a banking resolution. The action moves accounts from Bank of America to First Kansas Bank, which is acquiring the local Bank of America accounts on July 1.
     Waiting for the next regularly scheduled business meeting to approve the resolution wasn’t advised.
     “We need to switch everything over,” Dean said. Three accounts will be moved — payroll, federal funds and daily deposits. By making the change now, the college will have time to test automatic deposits, insuring paychecks continue to be deposited.

     The study session included reports on the eduKan audit, athletics, the Booster Club, the forensics program and Senate Bill 155, which pays for Kansas high school students to take career and technical education classes. Those who take qualifying classes at Barton have their tuition and fees paid, although they must pay for special course fees and purchase textbooks, Dean Elaine Simmons said.
     Senate Bill 155 went into effect on July 1, 2012, and was subsequently funded for a second year. Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman said it appears likely it will be funded for a third year.
     Great Bend High School has utilized the program through BCC, where Coordinator of Community Education Karly Little said the most popular offerings are automotive technology, computer concepts and Certified Nursing Assistant.
     “Being so close, we can send some of our faculty to them,” Little said. “There are also plenty of students coming out to the campus.”
     Larned High School has created an online classroom so students can stay at the school while working on their BCC classes.
     Trustees learned that students in other parts of the state have also taken advantage of free tuition and fees on certain BCC classes, because the college in on military bases at Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth.
     Heilman said some 30 school districts were served by the college this past year.