HURON Monday evenings meeting of the Huron Board of Education was dominated by three presentations, highlighting healthy aspects of three different areas in the Huron School District.
John Halbkat, director of Buildings and Grounds for the district, along with Jolene Konechne, the districts CTE (Career and Technical Education) director, made a comprehensive presentation, primarily on the planned addition at Huron High School.
Halbkat said that the district did a district-wide survey of buildings, with an eye toward enrollment and feasibility. Students were also surveyed and, according to Halbkat were screaming for more CTE electives.
After considering other options to address the increased need, Halbkat said that the design he was showing was created. It will allow for a dedicated room for the HHS Orchestra students which number 76 this year he said and has more than 90 requests for next year adds two CTE classrooms as well as two large laboratory areas that are also set for CTE use.
The addition is on the west side of the current high school footprint and it will end up costing us some parking, he noted.
Perhaps the most interesting portion of the project is that the school will not need to issue new bonds to complete the addition, which is expected to cost between $3.5 and $4 million.
The addition is expected to allow the district to offer up to four more CTE electives.
This is not a Taj Mahal by any means, Halbkat, a former Huron School Board member himself, said. It is functional. It fills the needs and will continue to fill the needs of the district for years to come.
Two other CTE projects are also expected to be addressed; ventilation in the welding shop and an overhaul of the Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) kitchen. Halbkat said that the adjacent FACS classroom will be freshened up, with new paint and such, and that some improvements will take place in the schools band and choral areas as well.
Konechne said that the district had received a Work Force Education grant for $225,000, which will go toward the addition and she expects to find out soon about additional grants for which she has also applied.
The second presentation came from district Business Manager Kelly Christopherson, who gave the board the first look at the proposed budget for the upcoming school year, which begins July 1.
Christopherson said that his staff has been working on the budget since September and that some estimating goes into the numbers. For instance, the budget goes into effect on July 1, however, the student count for state funding where the lions share of most school districts money derives isnt until September.
In September last year, he said, the district count was 2,949 students. Last Friday, on May 10, we had 2,970. We are estimating 3,010 students for next year, when we consider that graduation will see 168 students leave and kindergarten registrations have been around 200 new students.
Based on this year, Christopherson said he was able to put together a budget that has $55,494,000 in expenditures, an increase of approximately $9.3 million over last year. Nearly all of the budget increase is in the Capital Outlay section of the plan most of which is earmarked for the high school addition.
A hearing on the proposed budget will take place at the June 10 school board meeting, with adoption planned for the June 24 meeting.
The third presentation came from Huron High School librarian Rachel Kary. Kary shared the presentation she sent for consideration for the 21st Century Library Award. She noted that the library won the award three years ago and, as schools may only apply every three years, Huron High School was again eligible. Her presentation showed the high usage of the high school library by students and staff and shared some of the many innovations that have taken place.
She said she hopes to hear if the Huron library has been selected for the award by the end of the month.
In other action, the board:
Approved new hires, resignations and contracts for the upcoming school year.
Approved the variable pricing from AVERA PACE for milk and dairy, a 10-cent-per gallon discount on gasoline and diesel from Stern Oil Company, and a $2.25/square foot bid for the student built house from Builders First Source for the 2024-25 school year.
Approved a request by Christopherson to move the districts banking to American Bank & Trust, for a substantial increase in interest rates paid on deposits.
Agreed to begin looking at sharing funding with the Huron School District Foundation for an executive director for the foundation.
The board will meet again at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28, due to the Memorial Day holiday. The meeting will take place in the IPC on the second floor of Huron Arena.
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