The number of COVID-19 cases in Great Bend USD 428 changes daily but precautions to prevent its spread in the buildings have been mostly successful, Superintendent Khris Thexton told the school board Monday.

“Our numbers (of positive cases) continue to go down,” Thexton said. “The vaccine is now available for ages 5-11, so that gives an opportunity and we understand that the health department has that option right now if you so choose.”

Thexton said the district started the school year with a “pretty strong spike” of COVID-19 cases. “We’re definitely on the downhill side of that.”

The school district continues to use a Test to Stay policy. Students or staff who have close contact with someone at school who tests positive aren’t automatically quarantined but can choose to wear a mask and have daily COVID-19 tests at the beginning of the school day.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment pays for testing costs. KDHE will visit the district on Nov. 15 to check on the procedures.

“We started Sept. 21 and as of today we have done a total of 1,346 Tests to Stay through the whole district, which averages out to be about 42 per day,” he said. So far, there have been 25 positives, just under a 2% positivity rate.

“So you figure, the 1,346 tests (minus 25), that’s days that we saved kids being out of school,” he added.

“It’s everything together, but between the custodian staff keeping things clean and following good hygiene practices, going through that whole process that we do and following our operations plans, I feel like we’ve been very successful in keeping those numbers down,” he said.

“I can’t say for certain but I don’t feel like the transmission has been inside the district,” he said. “A lot of these (positives) are close contacts from home – family members, etc. But I feel like the transmission level has been very low. I can’t say zero but it’s been low.”

He credited that to the hard work of staff and to extra precautions taken by the district, such as adding ionization systems in the heating and air units and “just taking those extra steps to make sure that people are safe.”

There is still an issue with finding enough substitutes to cover when teachers are out sick.

Benefits of vaccination

Students who have been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks don’t have to be quarantined or take the daily tests if they have been in close contact with a positive case at school but don't have symptoms, Thexton said.

Anonymous donation to Dance Line

In other business, the board voted to accept a $5,000 gift from an anonymous donor for GBHS Danceline.

Other gifts approved included Kroeger’s contributions of $403.05 to Lincoln Elementary and $285.75 to Riley Elementary from its incentive rewards program.

Also, at the Oct. 27 luncheon meeting, the board approved a $112 contribution from A440 Music for band T-shirts.

Here’s a quick look at Monday’s Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education meeting.

• Special recognition was given to Dara Touslee, kindergarten teacher at Park Elementary, and Joseph Bliven, eighth-grade science teacher at Great Bend Middle School. They will represent USD 428 in the 2022-2023 Kansas Teacher of the Year program.

• Superintendent Khris Thexton gave an update on school operations that address the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Great Bend High School Principal Tim Friess shared course description updates and wording changes that are recommended for the GBHS 2022-2023 Program of Studies. The administration will request approval at the December board meeting.

• The board approved the purchase of 11 800 MHz frequency mobile radios. A new radio system was approved earlier but several buildings need an additional unit(s) to provide adequate coverage. These were purchased at the government contract rate from Motorola Solutions in Great Bend. Cost was $21,050, which includes batteries.

• Assistant Superintendent John Popp described how teacher evaluations are handled and announced that recruiting of teachers for next year is underway. New teachers graduating in December will be considered for employment now for positions currently filled by long-term substitute teachers until a permanent job is available.

• Director of Teaching and Learning Tricia Reiser reported on the next curriculum adoption.

USD 428 has a seven-year adoption cycle to keep all content materials up to date. This semester, teachers are piloting two K-6 Math programs and will make a recommendation of which one to adopt in the spring. Then 7-12 Math will begin the adoption process this year.

• Superintendent Thexton said it is time for the board to begin working on his annual evaluation. Board members chose a new evaluation form and agreed to have their comments to Board President Jacquie Disque before Thanksgiving, so she can compile them before the December meeting.

• Thexton discussed the job description for the Activities Director position, as AD David Meter will retire at the end of the school year. Applications will be accepted until Jan. 3, 2022, and then the interview process will start.

• Thexton gave an update on the two new boilers at the Panther Activity Center. “One is up and running,” he said. The second one will be hooked up next week and tested. An undersized water tank in the old system caused the boilers to kick on and off, a problem that went unresolved for years. Thexton said he is “very pleased so far” with the new system.

• Grants and contributions were approved. These included $5,000 from an anonymous donor to the GBHS Dance Line.

• The board met in executive session with Thexton, Popp and Reiser for 30 minutes to discuss the performance of individual employees. No action was taken.