South Barber USD255 Superintendent Dr. Mylo Miller opened the regular January meeting with recognition for the board members. He said board members “are entrusted by this community with the responsibility of an annual budget of $5.7 million, 250 students, 60 employees and 2 buildings.”

All board members attended the meeting Monday night. During this board member appreciation month, the superintendent distributed bags of homemade cookies, letters of thanks from the community and more to them. Those board members and their years of service include: Mark Pollock – President – 6 years of service; Bryan Quick – Vice President – 12 years; Deborah Helfrich – 19 years; Mariah Doherty – 3 years; Melissa Simpson – 3 years; Mike Miller - 2 years; and Ryan Molz – in first year.

Superintendent Miller and Board Clerk Julie Johnson also sat at the board table.

At the December meeting, Clint Erikson's carpentry class from the high school made a detailed presentation to the board about building handrails for the bleachers in the gym. Class members making the presentation were: Cole Coggins, Nick Malone, Tyler Schupbach, Kutter Jewell and Emilio Perez. They presented estimated cost of materials; the class liability concerns; a timeline and more for the board's consideration.

Monday night the board discussed the handrail project further. The cost of each handrail is $42.85. It will take 20 handrails to install for the home side lower and upper levels and the visitor side. Estimated total cost is $1285.50 plus $160 metal delivery charge. The class also researched the cost of renovating the existing bleachers, estimated at $73,000; or installing new at an estimated cost of $120,000 to $135,000.

Administrators and board members said they've had numerous requests for handrails in the gym. Referring to railings at some other school's gyms, they mentioned they did not feel secure. Erikson said they are solidifying handrail stability so they won't wobble. In the carpentry class proposal, they listed liability as a concern. The superintendent assured that USD 255 will bear the liability.

Dr. Miller recommended the board accept the proposal for the handrails “to provide a safer environment for people coming to our ballgames.”

The board voted to approve a prototype of the handrails and move on with the project at Superintendent Miller's discretion.

Elementary Teachers Applaud Board for Approving `Ready Gen Curriculum'

Most of the SB elementary teachers attended the board meeting Monday night. They were there to support the presentation made for the Pearson Ready Gen Reading Curriculum by Leigh Ann Vaught. She was visiting from Arizona to promote this curriculum in schools.

SB already uses Pearson and the teachers like it for its testing standards of students and defining where individual students are in a snapshot and any needs or remediation they need. It is a common core aligned curriculum.

Pearson offers “My Personal Training,” for free which provides a live webinar, live chat, etc., which SB uses. However, Pearson also offer live, on-site training for teachers and staff (up to 30 people for one day) at a cost from $1,900 to $3,150. The teachers favor the on-site live training one time and urged the school board to purchase it as they want the professional guidance. Several of them spoke briefly at the meeting in support of the reading curriculum.

One comment was that research shows that Ready Gen is working and consistently shows students progress through elementary school.

K-6 Building Coordinator Adam Maloney said he is a huge proponent of consistency and Ready Gen is at the very top regarding curricular alignment.

The board approved the Ready Gen Reading Curriculum (a six-year program) for a cost of $13,693. The teachers applauded the board's approval of the program. The superintendent said more research will be done before determining whether or not purchasing the live on-site training would be worth the cost versus the free on-line webinars that are included with the purchase of the curriculum.

Other South Barber School Board Business and Superintendent Report

Jarrod Inman received board approval as a South Barber Recreation Commission board member.

Payment of current bills received board approval. They totaled $356,614.36. Of that total, clerk Johnson said $68,796 was special education flow-thru money; and $45,539.92 was special education assessment No. 3.

The board held a 15-minute executive session to discuss the superintendent's annual evaluation. The board entered another 15 minute executive session and after five minutes invited Dr. Miller to join them. No action was yet taken on the matter upon return to open session.

In his report to the board, the superintendent said the fiber optic network cables between the elementary school and grades 7-12 building are “nearly a $100,000 project.” He thanked USD 255's IT Director Luke MacKinney for his “hard work” to obtain the funding – through E-rate money and a federal grant.

Miller said he's met with city administrator Lou Leone to work out details regarding the fiber optic cables.

He thanked MacKinney, teacher Pam Malone and the Interactive Media class for redesigning USD 255's website at no charge. The public can see it at https://www.southbarber.com/home.

The superintendent thanked all the teachers and students who enhanced the Christmas holiday with performances, plays, etc. He thanks the community for their continued support of school activities – mentioning the Life Skills class for 18-21 year olds, and supporting the Ministerial Alliance Food Bank.

South Barber Principals Update on Students and Sites

Maloney reported that the HVAC system in the elementary gym seems to be rectified by P1 of Wichita and maintenance director Keith Rathgeber.

Maloney gave updates of the programs that are benefiting students. He said the core value of the month for January is “self-control” – choosing what you should do, not what you want to do.

Grade 7-12 Principal Brent Shaffer said the honor roll was released (see in separate story). He said eight seniors are taking 39 hours of college credit. Many students are preparing to take the ACT. He updated on ongoing assessments and the upcoming many activities. See the school website listed previously in this article for the numerous upcoming activities.

Miss Kansas will be at SBHS tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 17, at 10 a.m., to speak. Her platform is “Remove the Labels: Be Unstoppable.”