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School board approves maximum price on building project
Idle money from 1998 bond moved to Capital Outlay
428 new logo

This time next year, Great Bend USD 428 officials hope to have moved into a preschool and administrative building at the site of the former CUNA Mutual Group property at 1809 24th St. On Monday, the school board approved a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) estimate and a project schedule presented by Todd Dumler, representing the construction manager at risk McCown Gordan, and two representatives from Schaefer Architecture.

The GMP is $4,788,881.

Back in 2022, the school board approved the acquisition of the property for $1.3 million after CUNA Mutual offered a $2.7 million donation off the valuation price of more than $4 million. Dumler reminded the board Monday that the district received good value for its investment. “It’s perfect, really, for the kids and for your administration.” Now that the board has approved the GMP, contractors can be mobilized to start working on the site the first week of October and it should be done in seven months, putting the completion date as early as the end of May 2024.



There are details to work out, but Dumler said the GMP includes everything, from the interior to the playground and parking lot.

Most of the money for this Capital Outlay program will come from federal ESSER (Emergency and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) dollars awarded in response to the COVID pandemic, Assistant Superintendent John Popp said.


Transfer to Capital Outlay

The district is also using money from its Capital Outlay fund. In other business Monday, the board voted to declare that the 1998 Bond Issue funds are no longer needed for the intended purpose and to move that money – $1,277,297 – into Capital Outlay. Superintendent Khris Thexton said the money left over from the 1998 Board Issue has been “sitting there” for some time and the auditors said it needs to be moved. The transfer to Capital Outlay is close to what the district paid for the CUNA property, he added.

Board member Deanna Essmiller commented on the move. “We’ve spent a lot out of Capital Outlay,” she noted. This includes the property on 24th Street and the property on East 10th Street that houses the new Support Services facility. The district should rebuild that fund at a gradual pace, the same way it was accumulated. “We don’t now just dump it all back.”

Thexton agreed. The 2013 addition to Great Bend Middle School was also built using Capital Outlay. Paying for items as the money becomes available is a slow process but has some advantages over attempting to pass a bond issue.

Meeting at a glance


Here’s a quick look at Monday’s Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education meeting:

• Todd Dumler from McCown Gordon Construction presented a Guaranteed Maximum Price estimate and a project schedule that outlines renovation details of the future Little Panthers Preschool location at the 1809 24th complex. The GMP is $4,788,881.

• Superintendent Khris Thexton provided updated details of the district’s proposed 2023-2024 budget, including a Revenue Neutral Rate review. The board approved publishing the budget and RNR notice in the Great Bend Tribune. 

• The board declared that the 1998 Bond Issue funds are no longer needed for the intended purpose and moved the funds to Capital Outlay. The bond was paid off in 2018, and the funds have been unused since. The intent is that the funds are used for the preschool project.  

• Administrators gave a curriculum report on such topics as professional development, the next curriculum adoption, state assessments, and the five-year teaching and learning plan.

• The business and operations report included information about an education program that aims to create a healthier, smoke-free future for Kansas youth. It will bring educators, parents, community members, and youth advocates together to support students who use e-cigarettes on their journey toward cessation.

• The board heard about the newly formed district safety committee.

• Board members and the administrators discussed updates on the following projects:

- Support Services

- Lincoln HVAC project

- GBHS Turf and Track Replacement

- July 16 storm damage overview, with summary of repair costs

• Assistant Superintendent John Popp gave a personnel report.

All positions are filled. Twelve positions will be filled with long-term substitute teachers: Two GBHS English positions, GBMS Skills, GBMS Social Studies, two GBHS Special Education, two GBMS Science, Riley Special Education, Park grade 3, Lincoln kindergarten, and a Riley grade 6 position. In addition, 10 instructional coach positions remain open.

Personnel changes were also approved Monday. Whitney Brown, special education teacher at Riley Elementary, has resigned. New appointments are Gannon Reichert, a science teacher at GBMS, and Wendy Popp, library media specialist at GBHS.

• Thexton’s superintendent’s report included an enrollment update, student transfer request report, summer lunch program update, the board governance document, Kansas Association of School Boards annual conference set for Nov. 10-12 in Wichita, and the latest contributions and grants. The board approved the contributions, which included a CPI Quality of Life Barton County Fund Grant to purchase an Imagination Playground set valued a $4,899.