Staff writer
The Centre Board of Education voted Monday to pay the Kansas Association of School Boards a fee of $1,000 to review the board’s policies. The action was taken to ensure that the policies are up-to-date and in compliance with Kansas laws and regulations as well as applicable federal laws.
The board also approved an online purchase order system to streamline requests from teachers. Instead of written requests, teachers will submit them online to the superintendent/principal for approval, after which they will be forwarded to the district office. Superintendent Brian Smith said the online system would save a lot of time. The initial cost is $2,500 with an annual license and support fee of $1,000.
After a 10-minute executive session to discuss non-elected personnel, the board voted 6-1 to employ Richard Idleman as the assistant high school boys’ basketball coach. Jeff Bina was opposed.
Smith reported the premium on the district’s 2013-14 property insurance totaled $52,994, a decrease of more than $2,400 from the previous year. The policy includes a $10,000 deductible.
Smith submitted a 2012-13 profile of 11 school districts in the area. Centre ranked ninth in authorized expenditures, but first in the actual expenditure per pupil, $13,104. It ranked eighth in average teacher salaries at an average salary of $45,228. Centre ranked ninth in the percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunches at 36.3 percent.
The board spent 50 minutes in executive session evaluating the superintendent’s performance, including Smith for part of the session.
The board will meet in special session Thursday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. to hear an audit report and do some long-term planning.