USD 258 house ready for bids

Monday’s USD 258 board meeting welcomed newly elected member Steve Sellman, who attended as a member of the public. Election winners Sellman and Mark Sizemore, both write-in candidates, were approved by the board at the meeting. Re-elected and approved was ANW representative Don Hauser. The newcomers will replace outgoing board members Chris Bauer and Debbie Hegwald, who did not seek re-election.
Money once again dominated the meeting. First, a minimum bid for the district’s almost-complete building trades house was set at $82,500.
The house will be open to view from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 18. Sealed bids will be accepted at the board office through 2 p.m. April 27. Bids will be decided on at a special meeting at 8 p.m. April 27; non-elected personnel issues will also be discussed during executive session at that meeting.
The board then approved amendments to the Greenbush Trust, which currently holds $700,000. The money is a result of interest accruing on the trust principal, Superintendent Bob Heigele said. The funds, however, “can not be used to offset any cost increases” in district health insurance, Heigele said. Amending the trust guidelines allows the school to access the funds. Heigele said 38 to 40 schools, as well as many municipalities, are party to the trust.

THE ANW BOARD voted to match its preschool calendar with the normal school year, Hauser said. Currently, the preschool starts a month after other students. He also reported the district had been offered use of LaHarpe Elementary building for its program next year, should that school be closed. Hauser said that would be a great benefit to the program, as they currently rent a building from the city of Iola which does not meet their space requirements. He said the program, plus some administrative duties, could be housed in LaHarpe.
Hauser also reported that Medicare payments thus far have matched all of last year. He expects the money, $40,000, to be reimbursed shortly.
The board should consider spending $12,000 for a Mac-compatible time and attendance program, Heigele said. The accounting program is needed to meet federal audit guidelines, so “classified staff can start checking in and checking out,” he said. “Right now, we can’t afford to pay overtime,” Heigele said. In addition, “Everything transfers from this system to payroll, so it will save ... time doing payroll.”
Hauser mentioned ANW ended up spending $15,000 to bring their system into compliance after a similar audit.
The last proposed expenditure was $3,500 for a prefab garage to use as a concession stand, Heigele said. He will look into purchasing it this summer.