Enrollment projections, meal prices topics at RV meeting

Enrollment projections and school meal prices for the 2015-2016 school year were the top agenda items for members of the Royal Valley Board of Education Monday evening. 

Superintendent John Rundle reported to the board that 44 families attended kindergarten round-up held recently in the district and that additional students are expected to enroll this summer.

“I used to tell you that we liked to have 70 students per class, and we do for some, but the reality is that the new normal is 60,” Rundle said. 

He estimated that total enrollment at the elementary school for next year will be near 316 students, which is down from this year’s 335 students.   

“The reason for the decrease is that we’re taking a larger fourth-grade class out and moving them to the middle school,” Rundle said.

There are currently 79 fourth-grade students at the elementary school. With the large class, the middle school is projected to have 272 students next year in its building, up from 259 students this year. 

Enrollment numbers at the high school are expected to remain relatively close from this year to the next, hovering around 270 students.

“Our overall student count won’t really change too much next year. It looks like a flat enrollment for next year, and we’ll build our budget accordingly,” he said. “This is assuming we get 60 kindergarten students. Right now, we just have 50.”

Also during the meeting, board members approved a 10-cent increase to breakfast and lunch prices at all three schools in the district in order to be in compliance with the United States Department of Agriculture. 

Katie Petesch, school food service director, said that in order to meet requirements from the USDA on Paid Lunch Equity, the district must raise all student prices by 10 cents.

For the 2015-2016 school year, new breakfast prices will be $1.50 for elementary students and $1.55 for middle and high school students. New lunch prices will be $2.15 for elementary students and $2.30 for middle and high school students.

“There’s not much we can do about the increase,” Petesch said. “We plug our prices into a formula, and they tell us what we have to do.”

If the district chose not to increase the prices, it would lose federal funds for the lunch program, it was reported.

The board also agreed to increase the price of an adult lunch at the district by a nickel, raising the cost to $3.45 per adult lunch. The cost of an adult breakfast will remain at $2.15.

In other business, the board:

* Approved consent items.

* Approved a request from Hoyt Fire Chief Ed Kester to use two school buses for a rescue training exercise for county emergency personnel this summer.

The older buses are set to be salvaged by the district as part of a grant they received from the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Kester said that, as part of the training exercise, the buses will be partially destroyed. 

“We don’t get a chance to work with school buses that often,” Kester said. “I think the last time we had any hands-on training with them was in the early 1990s.”

After they are used for the training, the buses will be towed to the salvage yard at the district’s expense. 

* Received a legislative update from Rundle. 

* Discussed the agenda for the board of education’s retreat, set for June 3 at the district office. Board member Boone Smith requested an update on the district’s new technology initiative. 

* Heard a report from Jim Holloman, high school principal, on the high school graduation set for 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 10. A total of 63 students are expected to graduate that day at the school’s gym.

* Accepted a $5,000 grant from CenturyLink, Inc. Susan Pfrang, director of curriculum and instruction, and Teri Griffiths, high school technology teacher, submitted the grant proposal, and the funds will be used to introduce coding, animation and robotics to students enrolled in computer classes through the use of Finch and Hummingbird Duo robots. The grant will also be used to send Griffiths to a technology conference this summer. 

Board members also accepted $1,606.53 in donations, which were raised during the RVES McTeacher Night held recently at a McDonald’s in north Topeka. 

* Approved the purchase and installation of a new door for the north side of the middle school in Mayetta. The door leads to the gymnasium and will be purchased and installed by Commercial Door & Supply L.L.C. of Topeka at a cost of $3,180.

* Approved the sixth and final payment of $16,923.20 to Shirley Construction of Topeka for construction of the RVHS greenhouse. 

* Held a hearing for the proposed Impact Aid budget. Several members of the Impact Aid Task Force were present, including Anita Evans, LeAnne Rupnick, Carrie O’Toole and Cheri-Micol Smith. 

A total of 294 students qualified this school year for Impact Aid. Students are deemed eligible if their families live on or work on federal lands, including Indian reservations.   

The Impact Aid budget has a carryover of $160,896 from last year and has received $81,025.05 so far this school year. Additional federal funds may still be allocated this year. 

The Impact Aid Task Force proposed a budget of $110,000, which includes $29,542 for elementary math and reading teacher support, $27,900 for after-school transportation, $45,928 for assistance teacher support, $1,630 for Impact Aid Association dues and $5,000 for Native American Singers and Dancers. 

Rundle said that members of the task force have been adamant that all programs funded by Impact Aid dollars are available to all students, not just Native Americans. 

A hearing was also held for the Title VII Indian Education grant. The majority of the funds from this program are used for tutoring and to administer and supply the Native American arts and crafts program. 

The working budget was proposed at $56,000 and includes funds for a part-time director, a cultural/crafts specialist, tutoring, fixed costs, mileage, student field trips and supplies. Last year’s working budget was $64,109.

Both budgets were approved as presented.

* Accepted the resignation of Brad Alley as the high school social studies teacher and cross country coach. 

* Met in executive session with Rundle, Pfrang, Holloman and Noah Slay, RVES principal, for 30 minutes to discuss non-elected personnel.

 Back in open session, the board approved the renewal of licensed supplemental contracts for coaching and activities as presented and approved the renewal of licensed teacher contracts not previously acted upon.

* Adjourned the meeting. All board members were present.