The Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education wrapped up the 2022-2023 fiscal year Thursday with a special meeting at the District Education Center. Action included approving teacher contracts, salaries, personnel changes and more, including next year’s insurance quote, which saw a $180,230 increase over the previous year.
There was also an update on the new Support Services Building at 625 East 10th St. (See related story on page 3A.)
Insurance goes up $180,230
Great Bend USD 428’s property insurance is through the Kansas Educational Risk Management Pool (KERMP) LLC. The total amount due for 2023-2024 is $466,702.
“This is a major increase from previous years,” Superintendent Khris Thexton told the board. “They did an appraisal and found our property values increased.” This was due to an overall increase in valuations and to the fact that the district has acquired two new buildings.
In addition to property, the policy covers multiple forms of liability, as well as equipment breakdown.
Negotiated agreement, wages
The board approved the new negotiated agreement with teachers, adding $2,000 to the base salary and all lines throughout the salary schedule. That brings the starting pay for a new teacher to $44,200, Thexton said.
Other changes include:
• An increase in teachers’ share of insurance premium costs.
• Adding 15 minutes to each school day to shorten the school year by five days. With this change, graduation will be on May 12, 2024.
• Continuing to use federal funds that were awarded to address the impact of COVID-19 and retain teachers and staff. This is a $1,500 bonus to returning teachers this year. Returning classified employees will also receive up to $1,500, depending on their contracted hours.
The board also approved pay increases for other employees.
Classified employees will see a raise ranging from 3.8% to 7.8%, depending on where they are in the system, or an overall increase of 5%. The lowest wage for USD 428 will now be $13.50 per hour. Thexton noted that other entities, such as the City of Great Bend, have now adopted $15 as their lowest wage. “We’ve got enough people that that would be a big jump for us,” he said, while indicating the district is “get there” at some point.
The cost of salaries for seven directors for 12 months will increase by $19,708 – from $523,611 to $543,319.
Administrators will see a 5% pay raise. The cost for administrators will decrease by $173,526 – from $1,706,456 to $1,532,930. This is due to changes in personnel, with more experienced people being replaced by newer people.
Personnel changes
The board approved the resignation of Tera Arnberger, a physical education teacher at Great Bend Middle School. Thexton said this comes after the deadline for announcing resignations but recommended allowing because Arnberger’s husband has accepted a job in another community. “We never want to keep a family apart,” Thexton said, adding the district has contact with a potential replacement. Arnberger was also the student council advisor and the seventh-grade girls basketball coach.
Two teacher appointments were approved. Cheyenne Rowe, hired through the Transition to Teaching Program, will teach vocal music at Great Bend Middle School. Amy Turner, who had resigned her position as a special education teacher at GBMS, decided not to leave and was reinstated.
Grant contributions
Two grants or contributions were approved:
• KSU Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Flight and Operations, in collaboration with the Drones in School organization, is providing $9,000 in drone equipment and a $2,000 teacher stipend to Barton County Special Services gifted teacher Robyn Heitschmidt for the Gifted Student Program. Gifted students will be working on design, marketing and more, and will join a drone competition.
• The GBHS Drama Club received a fundraiser check for $293.24 from Freddy’s Great Bend Custard Operations.
Budget transfers and expenditures
End-of-year budget transfers and expenditures were approved.
Prepaid expenses for the 2023-2004 include $466,702 for property and liability insurance; $15,867 for student accident insurance; and $29,750 for copy paper.
Transfers of unspent money in the general and supplemental funds will close the books for the 2023-2023 budget year. Any leftover money at the end of the year must be moved into a fund or returned to the state, Thexton said.
Transfers go into bilingual education, the Parent Education Program, special education, vocational education, and at-risk student funds. The totals are subject to final processing; currently, the estimate for transfers are $819,524 in the general fund and $682,110 for the supplemental fund (also known as the Local Option Budget).
