BonnerSprings.com / USD 204 students numbers trail off

Archive for Thursday, August 21, 2008

Enrollment drop is first in six years

Kim Mitchell, Bonner Springs Elementary School principal, helps first-grader Catherine Calderon out of the car after Calderon was dropped off by her parents Tuesday. The first day of school went smoothly, with only a few traffic snags.

By Jesse Truesdale

August 21, 2008

Early indications are the Bonner Springs-Edwardsville School District's enrollment is down for the first time since the 2001-2002 school year.

Superintendent Robert Van Maren delivered the news Monday in a report to the Board of Education.

Total enrollment has dropped 55 students from last year, though Van Maren later said numbers might well go up by the time the official count is taken Sept. 20. As of Wednesday, three students had been added to the rolls, he said.

Broken down by school, compared to last year there are 23 fewer at Clark Middle School for a total of 538 students; 14 fewer at Bonner Springs High School for a total of 754 students; 10 fewer at Bonner Springs Elementary for a total of 421; six fewer at Edwardsville Elementary for a total of 374; and two fewer at Delaware Ridge Elementary for a total of 325. The district total enrollment is 2,412 students.

The enrollment drop, if it continues, won't affect the district's state funding for a while, Van Maren said.

"It's harmless for two years in terms of the general fund budget," he said.

The state gives the district about $4,400 per student, which would mean about $300,000 in funding lost if the enrollment numbers stay as they are, Van Maren said.

District enrollment had been projected to increase by 26 students.

Van Maren attributed the enrollment numbers to the housing market and the economy.

"It appears people are losing their houses and some families are going back to Mexico," Van Maren told the board.

However, he said Wednesday, "We're taking a look at the number of houses for sale (in the district), and my guess is we'll be close back to the numbers."

As for refiguring the district's enrollment projections, Van Maren said district officials would likely have a meeting in December with the consulting firm that figured the current enrollment projections.

In other business, the board:

¢ Approved a motion to use contract custodial services instead of hiring a new lead custodian at Edwardsville Elementary on a trial basis.

The new contract will require staffing to be lined up and probably start in about a month, Van Maren said. The custodians now employed by the district at Edwardsville will keep their jobs but work elsewhere, Van Maren said.

¢ Heard from architect Eric Byrne of the architecture and planning firm ACI/Frankgiser Hutchens on the continued development of a master plan for the district's shared sports facilities. The plan includes improvements to the baseball field, the concessions stand at David Jaynes Field and the construction of a ticket kiosk.

Byrne also presented the board a new logo developed by ACI.

¢ Heard a year-end report from Edwardsville Elementary Principal Amy Riebel. Riebel said her staff had successfully reduced their use of worksheets for student assignments and professional development teams' weekly meetings produced ideas that could be implemented immediately to better teach students.

¢ Heard a year-end report from Pat Likins, director of Head Start. The program had 68 students in the last school year and the school passed its federal audit.

¢ Approved payments of warrants for $149,165.

¢ Approved the 2008-2009 budget.

¢ Heard an update on district technology purchases and improvements in the district from IT director Ken Clark. E-mail addresses for students and staff now have a shorter and easier-to-remember domain name, usd204.net, instead of usd204.k12.ks.us.

The reconfiguration of the district and the schools' Web sites is under way, and Clark said it would likely be another couple of months for color schemes and layouts to be finished.

¢ Heard a bond-issue and superintendent's update from Van Maren. He told the board the contractor who put in the new floors in Edwardsville Elementary's front entryway to the cafeteria would tear them out and replace them, perhaps as soon as Christmas break.

Talks with Verizon Wireless are continuing, he said, regarding compensation to the district for an 80-foot cellular tower at Delaware Ridge Elementary.

After negotiations, district teachers approved a new contract, said business manager Tami Koppang, with 127 voting for it and 30 against.

Discussion

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22 August 2008
at 10:04 a.m.

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travelinman (Anonymous) says…

So nice to hear that we can improve the baseball field and build a ticket kiosk, but we still can't handle the special needs of some of the students. Priorities. The school board needs to look up that word in a dictionary. Just out of curiousity, what percentage of the student population will benefit from an improved baseball field ? How will the students benefit from having a ticket kiosk ? All this at the same time that many families find it very hard to come up with the financing to pay for books. But I guess they can always go visit the new baseball field.

kids first !!!!
25 August 2008
at 5:26 p.m.

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L8trG8tr (Anonymous) says…

I have to say I think Van Maren sounds a bit racist in his comment about “families going back to Mexico”, he may as well have said the blacks are going back to Africa. How proud we all must be of him for representing our school district in that way. As someone of the Hispanic population, not all of us are illegal and need to go all the way back to Mexico. Most of us are from the area and have been for some time. Maybe next time he shouldn't single out one race. In these hard times we are all struggling no matter what our ethnicity.
I also agree with the gentleman's comment that the school district needs to prioritize when it comes to funding.
26 August 2008
at 12:47 p.m.

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dpfannenstiel (Anonymous) says…

As someone who grew up around the Bonner Springs/Kansas City area I've always enjoyed the events of Bonner Tiblow Days. This year however I must express my disappointment in the judging of the floats. How can you justify awarding the Vaughn-Trent float with first place over the Bonner Beautiful float? What were you thinking? This group does so much for your town and obvisiouly spent countless hours on building and working on their float and what an awesome theme they worked to convey. Going Green should be on everyones agenda. Just because the Vaugh-Trent group is the eldest group (perhaps) does not mean they earn the first place ribbon. I think it is wonderful that they participate, but that does not mean they should be awarded the first place honor every year. What's wrong with a wonderful “Honorable Mention”?
This year the Judges had a serious error in Judgement!
Maybe the crowd should be allowed to judge the floats.
What kind of message did this send out to our children on right and wrong, on fairness? Why would new groups want to get involved and participate in the years to come if there is such a slanted voting system? Come on judges, giving the first place ribbon to a group that was not the best, is not poticitally correct, it's just plain poor judgement. I hope next year is not another instant replay of the past few years.

D. Pfannenstiel
Mission, Kansas
1 September 2008
at 7:49 a.m.

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travelinman (Anonymous) says…

“Van Maren attributed the enrollment numbers to the housing market and the economy.

“It appears people are losing their houses and some families are going back to Mexico,” Van Maren told the board.”

I'm trying to follow this thinking. So what Van Maren is saying is that illegal aliens that came across the border with a bag of clothes and nothing else, are returning to Mexico because our economy has slowed down a little. Aside from the racial implications of the statement, this has got to be the most ridiculous theory I have ever heard.The idea that some are returning to Mexico shows a complete lack of understanding the real world situation. A complete lack of understanding the motivation that drives people to cross our border and leave friends and family behind.
It's little wonder that our schools are in the condition that they are when the man at the helm doesn't have a grasp of how the less fortunate survive. It does help to explain why the emphasis is put on the frills instead of the people. Van Maren understands the frills and the public perceptions, he just doesn't understand anyone who lives outside his glass bubble.