Since the school started serving free breakfasts to all students, the numbers have increased significantly, said Superintendent Stu Moeckel at Thursday’s School Board meeting.
“We have had a lot of students utilizing our free breakfast program, and we’ve been able to do that with probably streamlining some processes that we used to do as well as the incredible work of our food service staff,” Moeckel said.
During October, the number of breakfasts served increased by 75% from the same month in 2023. The numbers did drop about 24% in November, but Moeckel reminded the board that school was out for a week that month.
In October and November 2023, the district served 2,024 regular paid breakfasts. That number is 7,159 for October and November 2024. The number of reduced breakfasts went from 325 to 840 in the same timeframe.
The district lost about $768 by supplying free breakfasts in October and November. The district served a total of 23,083 breakfasts and received a reimbursement of $28,086 while the meals cost the district about $28,853.
“My goal would be that we break even on this, but if we’re losing $300 a month, I’d say it’s a pretty effective program that way, but our goal is still to continue to push those numbers,” he said.
The district is still working on marketing the program and figuring out how to get more kids through the long lines. Finding a way to get high schoolers to have time to grab something on the way to class is also still being investigated since they arrive at school closer to when the bell rings, Moeckel said.
In other business, the board discussed making the schools’ foundation executive director a district employee rather than an independent contractor. Shanda Hurla has been the director for almost 10 years and does not currently qualify for the district’s benefits package as she’s not an employee of the district.
Eudora Schools Foundation President Frances Lyons discussed the research the foundation has done leading up to this discussion and said employing foundation directors through their districts is not uncommon.
“We explored ways to make the executive director position more equitable for the current employee and in addition to that how it could be competitive for future employees with the assumption that the current employees may not always be there,” she said.
The foundation will also reimburse the district for the director’s salary, but the district would be responsible for the employee benefits package.
Lyons said as the foundation has evolved, Hurla’s role has changed and brought on new initiatives.
“Under her tenure, the foundation has seen tremendous growth in its total revenue and its reach, which in turn has resulted in more resources and opportunities for our students and our educators and more awareness, I believe, in the community of how we can support our students as a whole,” Lyons said.
Lyons said as the foundation has almost doubled in revenue over the last six years, the initiatives have continued to directly benefit students and teachers. From 2018-19 to 2023-24, revenue grew from $121,779 to $240,791.
If the board approves this request, the director would report to both the superintendent and the board of trustees. The executive director is paid for 30 hours a week year round.
The foundation added a volunteer coordinator position, a role filled by Monica Dittmer, as of fall 2023. Dittmer is a district employee with benefits shared between the foundation and district. During the 2023-24 school year, Dittmer was increased from 25 hours to 30 hours year round.
The foundation is also asking for the district to increase its annual contribution for operating costs from $15,000 to $30,000.
“When you think of what they do for our students and staff and our community and you think of that fundraising, the other arm of our school district, it just made sense, and so the ask of upping that to $30,000 didn’t seem astronomical at all. It felt like a good investment back into that program,” Moeckel said.
The board will vote on this item at the January meeting.
In other business, elementary art teacher Katie Eckelberry showed the board some of the ceramic art students have been creating since the school purchased a kiln. Eckelberry said ceramics have taught the students about perseverance and how to save their creations even if it feels like it’s on the brink of collapsing. Students have created plates, mugs and ornaments.
Principal Seth Heide also gave an update on the elementary school.
Heide said they are making sure to focus on social/emotional learning. They have 41 positive pals who volunteer to touch base with students and hang out with them, 15 students receive specific help with particular skills in what the district calls “check-in, check-out” and there are five social skills classes.
“Those skills for some of those kids are just as important as those academics, too, and we talk about how to interact with people, friendships, skills and that kind of thing, which are very vital,” he said.
Heide said the elementary school is trying to be proactive about absenteeism and trying to have conversations with families about what the school can do to help.
He said they have added growth assemblies for third through fifth graders to be recognized for making significant growth over the year.
As far as creating a culture of belonging for all staff, Heide said they are being mindful of protecting plan time for teachers to have ample time. He said they are trying to be more intentional in emails and condensing multiple emails into one to save the teachers’ time. These ideas come after results from the last engagement survey.
Moeckel also shared a draft calendar for the 2025-26 school year. The board will vote on the calendar at a future meeting.
Moeckel also shared photos of bond construction updates.
New CNA classroom:
Hallway/meeting area in new classrooms:
New Cardinal’s Nest:
Work continues on auxiliary gym:
New weight room:
New training room:
Following executive session, the board voted unanimously to extend the superintendent’s contract until June 30, 2027. The new contract includes a $ 161,578 salary. Last year, the board increased Moeckel’s salary from $149,350 to $156,817 because of an overall 5% increase for administrators and director staff salaries.
