School board members toured the new Panther activity bus Monday during the Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education meeting.
“That’s a great investment and a great addition to our fleet,” Superintendent Brad Reed said, noting students attend activities that are sometimes a three-hour trip or longer, such as the football game coming up this Friday at Liberal. “I know the kids love it, the coaches love it and the drivers love it.”
Later in the meeting, board members approved the administration’s request to take bids on a 2018 activity bus.
Assistant Superintendent Khris Thexton said the next bus will have the same amenities and safety features as the one board members saw Monday.
Bid specifications will include air conditioning, low storage compartments, upholstered seats and DVD player/monitor systems.
“Last year we talked about buying two activity buses,” Reed reminded the board.
Thexton said two older buses were traded in last year on the new one. They are used often, he added. “We put (the new bus) on the road as soon as it was in our hands.”
In other business, the board spent an hour in executive sessions with Reed for discussion of personnel, and then approved a new evaluation form and policy for the superintendent’s annual evaluation.
The board approved the following contributions and one grant application request:
• GBHS golf team members helped with and played in the Fore the Kids golf tournament. From that event, the team received donations to be used for the purchase of golf equipment:
- Cash, $275
- G. Michael Allison, DDS, PA, $50
-Coldwell Banker Sell Real Estate, $50
- Dove Buick, Cadillac Inc., $50
- Keller Real Estate & Insurance Agency Inc., $25
- Marmie Ford Inc., $50
- Marmie Motors Inc., $50
- Protective Equipment Testing Laboratory, $50
- Schenkel Construction Co. Inc., $100
- Straub International Inc., $100
- Tall Crop Inc., $100
• Smith Supply LLC donated $2,500 to the GBHS Athletic Department toward the new basketball scoreboard purchase. The district has paid for the purchase, but is still raising funds, Reed said. “We still have about $3,500 to go.”
• School nurse Cindy Prescott will apply for a Golden Belt Community Foundation grant for a vision screener, similar to the one the Lions Club purchased and loans to the district.