District purchases two new buses
by Eric Clark
News Editor
The Hillsboro Board of Education, at the recommendation of superintendent Gordon Mohn, decided to accept the low bid of $108,855 from Kansas Truck Equipment for the purchase of two 47-passenger Blue Bird buses.
The other bid amount was $110,008 from Midwest Bus Sales.
According to Mohn, the school will trade in the district's 1987 Ford bus and its 1990 Chevy bus, with 115,000 and 140,000 miles respectively, to help absorb $2,700 of the initial cost of $111,555.
"It's kind of 'School Administration 101,'" Mohn said of the decision to purchase the vehicles. "You don't let your school buses fall a part."
School board member Rod Koons asked Mohn about the longevity of the buses being purchased.
"I don't know anyone who drives buses like these past 170 to 180,000 miles," Mohn said.
"I'd hope that we'd be improving the life of our vehicles," Koons said.
Mohn said the trucks feature a luggage carrier located on the lower half of the bus. He said the additional luggage space might save the school from taking an additional bus for luggage and duffel bags.
Next year, Mohn said he anticipated that the school would need to replace two 20-passenger buses and one van.
The board also voted against the purchase of a new sound system for the Robert C. Brown Gymnasium Tuesday.
The new system would have cost the district $19,336.47 and would have replaced the present system which is more than 15-years old according to Mohn.
The superintendent said many have become less than satisfied with the quality of sound produced by the existing system. He said that it's most noticeable during commencement and concert settings when the audience is unable to understand those speaking or singing.
Council member Eddie Weber voiced his concern about the purchase of the system prior to voting against the proposal.
"I'm a little hesitant to spend $20,000 for one event," Weber said.
After council member Doug Weinbrenner made a motion to accept the proposal, and it was seconded by council member Mark Rooker, the members voted 3-2 in favor of the proposal, but because of the absence of council members Brent Barkman and Debbie Gies, the proposal was defeated.
After the proposal was struck down, council member Dale Klassen, who also voted against the proposal, asked Mohn if he could gather additional information and input from the choral and band instructors about the necessity for a new system.
In other business:
Mohn reported that the school has 654 students enrolled in the district this year.
Kansas statutes designate Sept. 20 as the official date for counting district enrollment. The enrollment figure is used to calculate the general fund budget for the current year.
According to Mohn, the number of students at Hillsboro High School has declined slightly and the general fund dollars available since 2001-02 will have declined from $4,202,433 to $3,971,089, or $231,344.
"This is pretty typical for little schools like ours," Mohn said. "It pretty much fits the trend."
The board also approved the issuance of an employment contract to Jeanette Brubacher to serve as the district's Alternative Action Project Coordinator.
"We're really excited to make something out of this," HHS principal Dale Honeck said of the program. "I think we have a really good person involved with this. She'll do a good job."
In his superintendent's report, Mohn said the city's recent discussion concerning the regulation of alcohol at the Hillsboro Sports Complex became a significant issue relating to the district.
"We were all concerned about this issue," Mohn said. "But it looks like it's a dead issue. If the (ordinance) would have passed, (the district) couldn't host Kansas State High School Activities Association sponsored events.
"From a crowd control situation it would be a mess. It just doesn't send a positive message to our kids," he added.
Elementary school principal Evan Yoder said the elementary school will be holding a book fair next week in the library.
The board accepted a donation in the amount of $71.35 collected for the Hillsboro Elementary School from the Hillsboro Ampride store.
