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 Broken Bow Elementary Principal Kim Jonas says two more portable classrooms, like this one installed last summer at North Park, would help ease the overcrowding situation at the elementary schools. Jonas presented information outlining the need for more space to the Broken Bow Board of Education Nov. 16.
By ELLEN MORTENSEN
Chief Assistant Editor
Broken Bow’s elementary schools do not have enough classroom space to accommodate the student numbers. That is the grim reality Broken Bow Elementary Principal Kim Jonas presented to the Broken Bow Board of Education Monday night.
Currently North Park school has 14 full-size classrooms, counting the portable that was installed over the summer. However, that portable is being used for special ed and is also shared with Sixpence. Jonas says that means she is two rooms short of what is needed at that school.
Jonas informed the board that due to the lack of available classrooms, some students are actually being taken into the hallway for certain services.
“And I don’t like that,” Jonas added.
She presented the board with a chart outlining projected numbers of students over the next five years, along with various classroom space availability alternatives. Jonas explains that the projected student numbers are determined by the number of children attending the main preschools in Broken Bow.
Jonas says that as of now, she is looking at being short 3.5 rooms at North Park for both the 2010-11, and 2011-12 school years, with keeping classroom size at the current 20 student limit per section. She added that when those North Park students move up to Custer, there will be even more space issues.
For now space availability at Custer is not an issue. However, by the 2011-12 school year Jonas anticipates being short two classrooms at that school, and being short 5.5 rooms by 2013-14.
Some of the options Jonas presented for solving this problem include reducing the student to teacher ratio for the 4th grade class, and adding two more portables at North Park. She also presented options for splitting grades between the two schools, taking into account the addition of the two portables. Moving any of the younger students to Custer is not an option, explained Jonas, as state law requires they remain on the ground floor.
Board president Kevin Cooksley directed the board’s facilities committee and curriculum committee to take a closer look at the issue.
Dr. Timothy Shafer, Broken Bow Schools Superintendent, reported an official enrollment of 880 students in the district for this school year. That compares to 843 last year. Several of the board members commented that running out of room “is a good problem to have.”
Monday night’s meeting also included the school’s annual audit, presented by Dan Zach. He explained that the audit involves looking into teacher contracts, any bonds the school currently has, insurance policies, all bank accounts, all revenue coming in, ADA and ADM counts for state aid and payroll for all salaried personnel. They also test all disbursements, or payments being made, by the district.
Zach reported his office found no errors or irregularities in those reports. He also reported that the district saw a $395,000 increase in revenue over last year.
“You have done some things to hold down your expenses so you have some positive cash flow. That’s a good thing,” Zach told the board.
The district currently has two outstanding bonds totaling about $875,000. Both of those bonds will be paid in full by fiscal year 2013.
According to the audit, the school district budgeted a revenue of $7,960,959 for this fiscal year. They actually collected $8,293,556. Meanwhile, the district budgeted spending $8,103,369 and actually spent $7,966,575.
“The accounting system you have in place is doing a good job for the amount of activity you have going on here,” Zach said.
Don Davis also made a presentation to the board on behalf of Mid-Plains Comm-unity College. According to Davis, the college is determined to expand its presence in Broken Bow, either on Industrial Park land along west Highway 2, or on land currently owned by Broken Bow Schools.
“Either way, this expansion will provide our students with increased opportunity to take college and/or career training classes while still in high school,” said Davis. “Clearly it would be more convenient for them to walk 50 feet to such classes rather than be transported a mile.”
Davis offered two proposals for putting a facility on school ground. One option is to build on the ground directly south of the middle school, with the other option for the building south of the bus barn.
Preliminary plans call for a one-story building of approximately 3,000 square feet containing three or four classrooms. Davis says the college is particularly interested in the area south of the middle school, which is currently unused by the district. He says the area south of the bus barn is considered a “less desirable site” by the college.
While the building will be designed and owned by the college, the school district would need to approve of the architectural look of the exterior to ensure that its appearance would not detract from the aesthetics of the current Broken Bow MS/HS campus.
No district funds would be used for any aspect of the development of this project. All building, furnishing and equipment costs would be borne by the college and private entities.
Davis cited some of the benefits to the school with the addition of the college building on the property. Those include expanded learning options, new training programs, college services such as placement testing, and exposure to the “real world” in a learning environment with community adults.
Davis also pointed out that the college is working on a plan whereby the district could use - free of charge - community college classrooms when not in use by the college, which could free up some high school rooms.
As an enticement for the college to build here, Davis said, the district would make the land available at no cost to the college, and would provide indoor and outdoor custodial (not maintenance) services. He says Mid-Plains would like to be in the new building in 18 months.
Davis requested the item be placed on the December meeting agenda for action by the board.
Other action items addressed by the board included reviewing and approving the first and second reading of a number of updated policies, including several changes to the superintendent duties, evaluation and professional development policies. The next meeting was set for Dec. 14, a week earlier than usual due to the Holiday Notes concert, at 7 p.m. |
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