BUHLER, Kan. — The Buhler USD 313 Board of Education Monday night discussed at length declining enrollment in the district, especially at Buhler Grade School, which has a much lower enrollment than the other two elementary schools in USD 313. The board also heard from Buhler Grade School teacher Shelly Cole, who said reducing the number of paraprofessionals is having a negative impact on morale at the school.
As of now, the option that is being looked at would be to not fill an open 4th grade teaching position for the 2024-25 school year but fill an open 1st grade position and reduce the number of paraprofessionals now in the building from two to one, with two vacant para positions not filled.
Some short term solutions that may also be looked at include engaging parent and community volunteers to assist in some of the supervision duties paras help with such as lunch, hall, and after-school bus duty. Any final decisions will depend on enrollment, with the district starting early enrollment for next year in mid-May.
Related to enrollment, the Board gave Superintendent Cindy Couchman the authority to set capacity and available open seats for non-resident students, which has to be posted by June 1st. Information shared with the board indicated there will be ample capacity in most grades, the exceptions being for 6th grade where on current projections there will be nine slots available, and for 7th and 8th grades at Prairie Hills Middle School and 11th grade at Buhler High School, with five slots to be made available per board suggestion.
The Board accepted building and state assessment needs assessments, which it will use in developing the 2025-26 budget this summer. Related to budgeting, Director of Finance Shane Hecox reported on the district’s legal maximum budget based on an audit by the Kansas State Department of Education, which indicated the district’s spending authority will be around $100,000 less than has been estimated when the 2024-25 budget was adopted.
Lauren Meadors from the City of Buhler discussed with the board a need to renew the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan for the City of Buhler, which provides a rebate of property taxes paid on the increased valuation relating to property improvements or new construction. This discussion also included a need for additional housing in Buhler, which ties somewhat into the Buhler Grade School enrollment issues.
It also heard a report from Heather Faulkner from the Reno County Childhood Task Force, who reviewed the work over the past few years to increase child care capacity in the county. One concept the task force is looking at is a plan where a new, not for profit entity would be set up that could oversee operation of several childcare facilities in Reno County that were built or expanded through ARPA funding.
The Board accepted bids from Hellas Construction to resurface the tennis courts at Prairie Hills Middle School, at a cost of just over $75,000 to start upon completion of their tennis season, and bids for refinishing the main gym floor at PHMS. The refinishing work will be done by Koehn Courts, with the paint and finish to be done by Nathan Novak Art of Hesston, which does this work for Koehn’s projects. Their combined bid of $27,300 was less than a second bid that included all work.
A new course developed by Ad Astra Academies director Erica Shook was approved. This one semester class, “Launch Pad: Skills for Virtual Learning Success,” will be a required class for all Ad Astra Academies students in their first semester of attendance. There are slight differences between the courses for middle school and high school students.
In other actions, the board approved revised job descriptions for three positions, authorized disposal of old uniforms from Prairie Hills Middle School, approved out of state travel for the Buhler High School Band to Chicago in March 2026 and for Buhler High’s FFA land judging team to attend national competition April 29th through May 1st in El Reno, Oklahoma.
At the start of the meeting, the board recognized members of Buhler High School’s wrestling, scholars bowl, and girls basketball teams who took part in state competition, with special recognition for girls wrestling 145-pound State Champion Macey Parks.
