District construction continues, tech upgrades to begin soon

Since bond construction projects have broken ground at the high school, middle school and early learning center, Superintendent Stu Moeckel shared updates with the board at Thursday’s School Board meeting.  

Aerial photos of the high school construction show where the new classrooms will be, as well as the new auxiliary gym. The gym will be placed where a parking lot behind the school used to be. 

New roofing is also underway at the high school. 

Moeckel also showed the board photos of the hallway to the new ed-tech classrooms. Colorful graphics and class names will line the hallway walls to help improve the atmosphere, he said. 

The middle school’s entrance is closed as crews work on the new secure entrance, Moeckel said. The entrance will mirror those of the elementary and high schools. Students and parents are using an alternate entrance since digging for the new foundation is underway. 

Digging for the new retention pond and parking lot at the Early Learning Center is also underway. 

The district was able to reimplement a lighting package for the whole district, and since it came in a bit under budget, some other areas will be getting new lighting. Moeckel said the PAC and middle school auditorium will also receive some unexpected lighting updates. Bids for those will be received by the board later. 

IT Director Ron Long presented a number of bids to the board, including those for Chromebooks, intercom communication and classroom audio-visual upgrades. 

The intercom system – included in bond costs – will be a complete revamp of the current system with a full demo in all four buildings. Eventually the system will tie in with the district’s new phone system, which is software based.A bid for about $598,500 from Convergint for the intercom communications system was approved by the board. 

The audio-visual upgrades to classrooms, another bond project, will cost about $227,600 from KCAV. The project will include upgrades to audio-visual components in every classroom, like projectors and interactive boards. 

“Our goal is, at the end of ‘25, we’ll basically be able to tell the public that because of this bond because of your help, and Mr. Moeckel’s, and everybody’s, we’ve basically rebuilt the IT infrastructure network all the way to the classroom from the ground up, and I think that is an accomplishment,” Long said. 

A bid for Chromebooks by Archangel for about $73,900 was also approved. This is an annual purchase for 300 units for the incoming fifth graders and incoming freshman class, Long said. Students use the devices for four years before they are passed down to younger elementary students or paras. 

In other business, Assistant City Manager Zack Daniel discussed the notice of a public hearing for the implementation of the tax increment financing district for the Nottingham district. 

The hearing on April 22 will be during the commission’s regularly scheduled meeting. The commission approved the hearing at the March 12 meeting, after the Planning Commission also recommended its approval. 

Board member Joe Hurla asked about the timeline of the incentive, and asked if the district had been collecting this sales tax already. 

Daniel said the city had been collecting sales revenue from the site. With the implementation of the district, the city will be able to convert the debt associated with the site from a temporary note to then use revenue associated with the district toward the debt. The district would be active for 20 years once the commission approves it, he said. 

The school board will have a chance to share thoughts at the public hearing if they chose to, Daniel said. 

Daniel also updated the board on the reinvestment housing incentive district for the Shadow Ridge North development. The developers will be submitting a new preliminary plat since they are considering some higher density options, like senior housing – something brought up at a prior public hearing. Originally, the development included 118 homes. There will also be a traffic study of the area to help further understand neighborhood needs, he said. 

Moeckel said he appreciated the city’s commitment to the traffic study as the area is next to the high school. 

“So I like that there’ll be a third party thing that we can take the emotion out because I may feel a certain way about where 23rd connects and the purpose for it, but if people who are trained to do that say this is what we need to do, that will be very helpful to all parties,” Moeckel said. 

The board also discussed the apartment project at 10th and Peach St., across from the elementary school. Developer GW Weld and his partner Dustin Baker with Alcove Developer are hoping to build 40 affordable units and 80 market rate units. 

They are in the process of applying for a tax credit program through the Kansas Housing Resource Corp. to provide the income-restricted units. 

The district was notified because there are components as part of the application to show city stakeholders are supportive of the project. The developers are also asking for property tax abatement and sales tax exemptions, and more specifics on those requests will come to the commission at a future meeting. 

Moeckel said the district receives funding based on the number of students. 

“Remember our funding is based on headcount, and so, if it may bring more students in, that will help raise our funding, and I would agree with Zack to the point that if nothing happens to that land the valuation will go up incrementally instead of much larger, when it comes back much larger, when it comes back after 10 years on the tax rolls,” Moeckel said. 

In other business, Principal Justin Bogart and Assistant Principal Sean Hayden gave updates on how the high school is managing student behavior. Students can receive “minors” and “majors” when misbehaving. 

Minors can result from things like disrespect, misuse of passes, profanity, academic misconduct and technology violations. Majors can be unexcused absences, tardiness, fighting, lunch violations, physical contact, property misuse, lying, banned object, vandalism and more. 

Minors are expected to be handled in the classroom with teacher conferences with students or referring students to counselors, social workers or administration, or making calls home. Majors may need administration consequences and calls home. 

The high school has been working on building relationships with students so there is trust when misbehavior does occur and positive relationships can exist, he said. This has been a major success for teachers this year, Hayden said. There has been a 77% decrease in majors given out from last year to this year, and a 66% decrease in minors, Hayden said. 

“This data is a testament to our teachers in taking that task to heart and really building those relationships with students,” Hayden said. “As you know, that behavior is communication from a student, it’s a response to something.”

Bogart said growth of social-emotional learning support through both advisory and classroom instructions are continued areas of need, as well as more effective communication with parents regarding student learning. 

The high school had worked on reorganizing the course programming guide and added the fashion, apparel and interior design classes and the future pathway, Bogart said. Enrollment in the class has been good, he said.

In other business, the board approved the purchase of three Ford Escapes that will be used to transport special education students and others. Since the current vehicles – vans and old Fords – are outdated and no longer reliable for out of town travel, it is time for the district to purchase new ones, Moeckel said. 

The board approved the purchase of three SUVs for about $89,000 from Laird Noller Ford. The existing vehicles will be kept for in-town travel. 

The board also approved the non-resident enrollment report previously discussed at the last meeting. The report takes into account projected enrollment numbers for next year, and the larger graduation classes that will be phasing out. 

The report sets capacities for additional students to each grade as follows: 10 kindergarteners, 27 first graders, 20 second graders, 4 third graders, 33 fourth graders,  27 fifth graders, 36 sixth graders, 31 seventh graders, 31 eighth graders and 42 high schoolers. 

This report had to be approved by May. New families will apply on the district’s website starting June 1, and then have to enroll later. If there are more applicants for a certain grade than the capacity allows, it will go to a lottery. The board will revisit and adopt new capacities each year. This does not pertain to students currently enrolled or siblings currently enrolled. Those students are grandfathered into the district. 

Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected]. 

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