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Holcomb to open adult learning center
Published 7/14/2009 in Local News : Education
By EMILY BEHLMANN
HOLCOMB — Some former kindergarten classrooms that have sat empty for years are planned to have a new use starting next month — a learning center where adults who never graduated from high school can earn Holcomb High School diplomas.
The Holcomb Board of Education, with new members Mary Ann Bennett, Gayla Lohfink and Matt Jones, gave unanimous approval Monday night for a partnership with Southwest Plains Regional Service Center to establish the adult learning center.
Bill Biermann, assistant executive director of the Sublette-based service center, told the board that the service center has been operating similar adult learning centers in other school districts for 11 years. The centers exist in communities including Cimarron, Dodge City, Hugoton, Scott City and Ulysses.
The service center's responsibilities include providing the staffing and operating the center, advertising and recruiting students, and providing the software needed for courses, which largely are completed online, Biermann said.
While most of the work is handled on the service center's end, the plan does require some work by the district's high school counselor, Biermann said. The counselor would have to be sure the adults' curriculum aligns with the requirements of the school's diploma and would have to issue learning center students with high school transcripts.
Funding comes from the state, which would provide the same $4,218 per full-time pupil that it pays for traditional students. Biermann said the service center would use a majority of those funds to operate the learning center, but any leftover money would be split with the school district. It typically takes about 18 to 20 full-time students, or the equivalent, to break even, he said.
The service center, however, is the party that assumes the risk if the learning center doesn't make budget because of insufficient enrollment, he said.
He said most of the adult learning centers in the region are operated out of buildings unconnected with the school district.
However, USD 363 has some unused classrooms on the north end of Holcomb Elementary School. And although they need some work, Biermann said he thought it would be a good place to house the learning center. The northern wing has a separate entrance, so adults wouldn't have to walk through the main part of the school to go to classes, he said.
"It's just an educational use of a space you already have," he said.
The service center would pay a to-be-determined amount of rent for use of the facilities.
With the district's only investment being the $30,000 or so needed to get the rooms ready — replumbing and HVAC work is required — Lohfink said she was wondering whether she was missing any negatives of the plan.
Superintendent Robert O'Connor said he didn't think so.
"I think both parties have an interest in making this go," he said. "We have the facilities, and we have a partner that wants to help us."
He said he thinks Holcomb's transient population would lend itself well to a learning center because there tends to be a flow of adults in the community who lack diplomas.
The center would operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and 8 a.m. to noon Fridays, during the school year. Registration costs $10.
Also on the agenda
In other business, the USD 363 Board of Education:
- Voted unanimously to approve a proposed 2009-10 teachers’ contract that would raise educators’ base salary by 1.5 percent, to $35,806 for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree. A first-year teacher with a master’s degree would receive $38,912. In addition to the bump in the base salary, returning teachers would earn a $200 to $300 step increase for an additional year of experience, plus a possible boost in pay for additional hours of education. Teachers voted 46-5 last week to approve the contract.
- Set the 2009-10 budget hearing for 8 p.m. Aug. 10. O’Connor said the budget is still being developed, with much needing to be reworked after Gov. Mark Parkinson two weeks ago announced a 2-percent cut ($62 per student) to base aid for Kansas’ public schools, following a series of cuts by the Legislature in an effort to balance the state budget. A proposed USD 363 budget must be published in The Garden City Telegram at least 10 days before the budget hearing.
- Approved board goals for the coming school year that focus on positive district climate, fiscal accountability and academic focus, as well as administrators’ goals including recruiting and retaining qualified staff, supporting efforts to achieve the Adequate Yearly Progress mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and providing staff development. Board members suggested a few new items to add to the “district climate” goal they said could improve communication within the school district, with board member Mary Ann Bennett suggesting a Superintendent’s Council made up of a few board members, teachers and community members who meet regularly with Superintendent Robert O’Connor. She also suggested publishing a calendar of events on the district Web site, while board member Gayla Lohfink recommended having occasional board member visits to schools to chat with teachers and other staff.
- Voted 7-0 to approve purchase of a 25-horsepower Husler Z lawnmower from Garden City Farm Equipment, Garden City, to replace an old mower. By trading in the old mower, plus two others no longer used, the school district will pay about $15,000 for the new mower.
- Declined to purchase a marquee that, with installation costs, would run about $40,000, according to O’Connor. The purchase would have come from a collection of small grants, a contribution from the Holcomb Recreation Commission and funds from the Holowach Scholarship Fund, established by a donation from a past graduate. Bennett said the Holowach fund was earmarked for scholarships, and that its only other use should be for emergencies.
- Accepted the resignation of Kristy Ellis, middle school principal; Matisha Stanton, fourth-grade teacher; and Carrie Hernandez, school nurse.
- Approved the hiring of Becky Meng as a school nurse and Emily Watkins as a fourth-grade teacher.
On the Web:
Download a copy of Monday's USD 363 Board of Education agenda, or see the proposed 2009-2010 teachers' salary schedule.
USD 363 Holcomb — http://users.pld.com/holcomb/
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