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USD 457 puts option on land for school
Published 9/9/2008 in News : Education
By EMILY BEHLMANN
ebehlmann@gctelegram.com
The USD 457 Board of Education is closer to owning about 92 acres of land that, if a bond issue on November's ballot is successful, would be the site for a new Garden City High School.
The board voted 5-0 Monday night, with Jeff Crist and Gail Dunford absent, to place an option on the 92.226 acres that lie north of Mary Street and east of Campus Drive, inside the U.S. Highway 50/83 Bypass.
Buying the option agreement, which costs $2,000, gives the board the "exclusive and irrevocable right, privilege and option to purchase the land at a cost of $590,000," according to the approved resolution.
Purchase of the land is contingent upon passage of the $97.5 million bond issue that would fund, among other things, a new high school to accommodate 2,000 students, with room for expansion.
The current high school building would become a middle school, Abe Hubert Middle School an elementary school, and Garfield Elementary School an early childhood center. J.D. Adams Hall -- which sits on the GCHS campus -- would be used for the New Outlook Academy alternative high school, among other things.
The agreement also states that the land will be purchased only if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirms that the area is not designated by the federal government to be a wetland.
Architect Stuart Nelson, of the Garden City firm Gibson, Mancini, Carmichael & Nelson, said a wetland designation is unlikely, especially given the results of an assessment by Terracon Consulting Engineers & Scientists, an Olathe-based firm with a Garden City office.
The firm had done an environmental study and limited wetland review in the summer, and its report recommended further study of the land to verify that it's not a wetland. The secondary study showed no indications of a wetland, Nelson said.
He said that if the school district proceeds with the land purchase, the $2,000 it's spending on the option agreement would go toward the land's total cost. If the bond issue fails or the Corps of Engineers determines the land can't be used, the $2,000 would be returned to the district, he said.
Portions of the total 92.226 acres are owned by Lanoga Corp.; John D. Pinegar; Sue W. Pinegar; Janice McAbee; Campus Gardens, L.L.C.; Triple J & D Co., L.L.C.; and Stockgrowers State Bank of Ashland.
In other business Monday, Assistant Superintendent Shelly Kiblinger reported that most of USD 457's new teachers are satisfied so far with the district and the community, though some expressed frustration with tasks like finding a place to live, according to a survey conducted Aug. 29.
Kiblinger said the survey was given to the district's 120 new teachers, and about 80 responded.
Seventy-four of the respondents said they were either "somewhat satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their employer, and all but one said the same about the community.
Top factors that drew them to their USD 457 jobs included friendly staff, the fact that it was their first job offer, quality schools, a close proximity to home, a welcoming community and the district's $500 signing bonus, results showed.
Some educators, however, said they were frustrated with tasks like finding a place to live -- an answer for 31 respondents -- completing paperwork and traveling far from home. As of Aug. 29, nine teachers still were living in temporary housing, and one was living in another community, Kiblinger said.
Part of the housing challenge probably was the result of an influx of roofers who have rented local properties to work following widespread roof damage from spring hail storms, she said.
Teachers surveyed said USD 457 could have made the transition easier with steps like paying moving expenses and providing more information earlier about available rental properties.
The goal of the new teacher survey was partly to learn about how the educators are fitting into the district and community, according to Superintendent Rick Atha. Kiblinger, who recently took over the personnel department, said she also wanted to learn what practices helped the department have an effective recruiting season in a time of teacher shortage.
The district still has 16 unfilled teaching positions -- seven at the elementary level, four at middle schools and five at the high school -- but that's a significant improvement from the 33 left unfilled at this time last year, she said. Vacancies, which are most prevalent in special education, are covered by a combination of long-term substitutes and overloads by other educators.
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