Board Brief

Board Briefs are informal reports from the regular meetings of the USD 495 Board of Education and intended as a communications service for district staff and patrons.

These are not the official minutes.

All consent agenda items were approved.

Student/Staff Presentation: A few of our All-League and State Qualifiers were recognized for their accomplishments during the spring sports season. Congratulations!

Board Spotlight: Brent Hemken recognized the great work of Craig Lyman and the high school band students. He shared how Craig encourages students to try solos and celebrated their recent success in competitions. Brent also praised Chris Scheideman for his leadership of LHS Forensics, saying how confident and talented the students were during tournaments. He ending with noting how fortunate the district is, especially for a town our size, to offer a wide range of sports and extracurricular programs. He hopes these opportunities continue to grow and thrive in the years to come!

The board approved the Negotiated Handbook for the 2025 -26 school year as presented.

• Hunter Fitzpatrick, Assistant Football Coach at LMS, Jordan Haney, Asst Girls’ Golf Coach at LHS, Josh Ball, Head Boys Wrestling Coach at LHS, Cynthia Martin and Kimberly Cardoza, Teachers at Tri-County, Alisha Busenitz, Teacher at LES, Brian Deterding, Athletic Director and Assistant Principal at LMS and LHS, and Brian Stahlecker, Asst Football Coach at LMS.

• The board also approved a 3.5% compensation increase for classified staff and continued the staffing supplementals for the 2025-26 school year. Administrator and Director salaries were approved with a 3.5% increase, and Catrina McGurk’s contract was modified to a 12-month contract.The Superintendent’s contract was also approved through the 2027-28 school year.

Board Policy Updates: Several policy recommendations have been shared by KASB Legal and Policy Services. The board will review them and plans to bring them back next month for possible adoption.

Middle School Controls and Chiller Replacement: The biggest facility need right now is the HVAC system at LMS. The current chiller and control systems are old and near the end of their life, causing ongoing problems with temperature control, equipment reliability, and additional maintenance.

The district received a bid from Building Control Systems (BCS) through the Greenbush Cooperative for a full replacement. The project will include new building controls and a new chiller, but the boiler won’t be replaced at this time.

At the June 9 meeting, the board voted to move forward and approved the BCS bid for $907,563.

Enterprise Fleet Management: Mr. Wachs and Transportation Director Mr. Fairchild are looking into using Enterprise Fleet Management to handle the district’s passenger vehicles. This would cover everything from buying and financing the vehicles to licensing, customizing, and eventually selling them after five years. The plan is to keep three of the vehicles we already have and add seven more through Enterprise. By working with Enterprise, we can take advantage of their buying power to save money instead of buying vehicles on our own. If this plan gets approved, most of the costs will be paid from the Capital Outlay budget, with extra help from the Tri-County Special Education Cooperative and the Driver’s Ed program.

Device Handbook: Technology Director Gwen Lehman presented the updated 2025-26 Device Handbook. Students will now report device damage or loss by telling a teacher, school librarian, or the tech office, instead of submitting an online ticket. Replacement costs for some non-warranty items have also changed: Chromebook chargers, iPad charging cables, and charging bricks will be $20 each, and Chromebook cases will cost $30.

LHS Accounts: The board moved to delete the Class of 2025 from the activity accounts and add the Class of 2029 and Science Club to the activity accounts.

Smart Board NEXT Bar: The board approved the purchase of Smart Board NEXT Bars. These plug into our existing Smart Boards and give them a much-needed update. They allow us to run a newer operating system and extend the life of the boards we already have.

Student Fees: The board approved student fees for the 2025-26 school year. Fees will be $50 per year per student. Students qualifying for free and reduced lunches will have this fee waived.

Building Needs Assessment and State Assessment Review: The board approved the agreed upon District/Board developed Needs Assessment after State Assessment Review and each individual Building Needs Assessment presentation.

Transfer and Reclassification of Funds:The board approved giving the Superintendent and Treasurer, Hannah Smith, the authority to make year-end adjustments as needed.

• Reminder: The July board meeting will be held on July 7 instead July 14.

• Mr. Wachs also gave the board a brief update on the Education Funding Task Force.

The USD 495 Board of Education will meet again on Monday, July 7 at 6:00 PM at the District Office.