Improvements for the softball and baseball fields, updated renderings of bond projects and approval of the 2024-25 budget were discussed at Thursday’s school board meeting.
During the superintendent’s report, Stu Moeckel said potential improvements for the baseball/softball fields were not able to fit in the bond. However, Moeckel said this was an idea proposed at many of the committee meetings.
Moeckel said they are still looking into these costs, but the board can expect more on this in the future. He estimates the total project could be done for $20,000 to $30,000, with $10,000 to $15,000 for the cages and the rest going to concrete.
This would be the starting point for those complexes, he said.
Moeckel said the project would help patrons watch both softball and baseball teams, and improve batting cages and pride in the facility.
The board will vote on the project in November with it potentially being ready in the spring, Moeckel said.
The board also approved the 2024 budget and voted to exceed the revenue neutral rate. It held two separate hearings for the items. Resident Ken Filardo spoke about concerns regarding the bond issue and taxes within the city.
“You know, we need to spend the money wisely, and because of the inflation and housing prices, we’ve seen a huge increase in the tax revenue for the school district over the last five years,“ Firaldo said. “So my concern is that with the bond issue, are we going to see significant growth in the Eudora area to be able to keep that revenue neutral given that we do not have much of an industrial base in the Eudora area as opposed to like if you look at De Soto?”
If they would have stayed with the revenue neutral rate, it would have resulted in a difference that would leave the district short on resources, Moeckel said.
“As we diversify our economy with additions of both commercial, industrial and the like, we hope that we will need less of a burden on our homeowners, but we all know that valuation rising will benefit our district,” Moeckel said.
The district’s general fund authority is $12,345,181, and state aid represents about 85% of the district’s total general fund. The assessed valuation for the district increased 9% this year.
The mill rate is going to increase from 65.729 last year to 69.202 for 2024, but no change in mills is coming from the general fund, but mostly from state aid.
In other business, High School Principal Justin Bogart, Middle School Principal Jeremey Thomas and Elementary Principal Seth Heide introduced the board to some of the new teachers at their respective schools.
Bogart also introduced himself to the board after his first few months as principal.
“I’m learning the climate and the culture and we were able to find outstanding teachers,” Bogart said.”I want to publicly thank Mr. Ron Abel for his work and creating a culture where very few people leave after a change of leadership because they’re confident that things continue to work as smoothly as they always have.”
Transportation Director Machaela Beshears gave the board updates on the district’s buses and other vehicles.
“When it comes to buses, we had a total of 433 activity trips last year, so the average for the year is about 40 trips a month,” Beshears said.
The district has 18 buses, with 12 of those being used multiple times every day.
As some of the vehicles near high mileage, it is time for the district to address some of these, she said. They are still waiting to hear back on quotes.
Beshears said the district has been using transit vans, but a lot of districts are resorting to them due to the shortage of CDL drivers. The district is waiting to hear quotes on these as well.
“The team in our transportation department has some of the most dedicated people I’ve ever met from last minute schedule changes, weather conditions,” Beshears said.
Moeckel also showed the board new iterations of the bond construction projects, including updates on the early childhood center, the new secure entrance at the middle school and new classrooms connected to the high school. The iterations also show auxiliary gym inclusions with six basketball hoops and two volleyball nets.
He also gave updates on district enrollment and projections for next year. This year, the district is totaling 1,715 students, with 1,708 expected for next year. This is a decrease from 1,771 in 2018 and 1,755 in 2019.
The board also heard updates on the open enrollment policy starting next year, but the board is yet to adopt a policy setting capacity for the district. On June 1, nonresident students will be able to apply to transfer to the district. For more information about open enrollment, click here.
Moeckel also presented possible changes to the fine arts credit to include graphic design and digital media technology as qualifying courses for the classification.
The board also approved the hiring of a new high school track coach, MaryJo Swann.
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected].
