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School board mulls long-range plans
new slt longrange planning
An employee from Mobile Fleet Installation, Tulsa, Okla., installs a video camera on a Great Bend school bus, earlier this month. Cameras on the GBHS parking lot are on the list of possible future projects for USD 428. - photo by Susan Thacker/Great Bend Tribune

The Great Bend USD 428 board of education continues to work on long-range planning and has compiled a list of possible projects, including safe rooms, more parking spaces, and playground equipment. A planning session has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 27, at the District Education Center, 201 S. Patton Road.
At the Feb. 13 board meeting, Interim Superintendent Khris Thexton presented a document listing long-range planning items that came from the board’s first work session on the topic, held Jan. 30. Thexton said the public’s input to board members is welcome, and that several people had responded to an online community survey.
“This list is by no means a finished list,” Thexton told the board, which is why members scheduled the next work session.
Board member Susan Young asked, “At what point do we put dollar amounts into this?”
Young noted that some of the items on the list might require hiring additional staff, such as a high school truancy officer or a coordinator for the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program.
“That will be a topic for the next meeting,” Thexton said. The administration will also look at what can be done in-house. “We just want a general direction,” he said, adding the administration and school board will look at the funds available and consider what is best for students and shareholders.
Assistant Superintendent John Popp said that because the board is looking at long-range plans for the district, the work “won’t be done in one year.”
Possible projects on the first list fall into the categories of district facilities, personnel, curriculum, safety and security, and other. 

USD 428 Long-range Planning Document

Items are not listed in order of importance.

Building
Safe Rooms/Multipurpose Rooms (new or retrofitted?)
Bus Barn/Maintenance Facility
Expanding Meeting Space – Centrally located?
Pre-K space
6th Grade to Middle School
Washington School problems (west side)
Swimming Facility
Classroom Space

Other Facility
Water bottle fill stations at water fountains
Locker Rooms -Size, Shower stalls, lockers
Parking spots
Traffic Flow Issues -involve students in solving traffic flow issues
Playground equipment
• Tire pieces (look into playground mulch)
• Fitness component with Playground
• Consider placement of equipment
Updating Kitchens at elementary schools

Personnel
Middle School Student support help
High School Attendance/Truancy officer

Curriculum
JAG (Jobs for America’s Graduates) Program
Freshman Transition class (or part of 8th grade wheel?)
High School Elective time

Safety/Security (continue to increase safety)
• More SRO support
• Cameras on Parking Lot at the HS
• School crossing on 10th/Grant
• School crossing by Sutherlands
• Sidewalks

Other
• School Lunches (choices, quality, quantity) - student involvement in menu development
• Technology - Beyond 1:1 technology for future