McPHERSON, Kan. — The McPherson USD 418 Board of Education Monday night began the process of determining elementary school boundaries for the 2026-27 school year. The board heard a presentation from Ginna (GINA) Wallace from RFP which is assisting the district in the process of going from four elementary schools to three.
Wallace said one of their goals is to keep neighborhoods together to the greatest extent possible. As part of the process, there will be a pair of community meetings next month to gather input from patrons. One will be an evening meeting on Feb. 10 and the other will be a midday meeting Feb. 11.
As the Kansas Legislature is poised to consider a bill that would impose a statewide ban on use of cell phones during instructional time in K-12 schools, the Board of Education heard a report from McPherson High School Principal Aubrey Herbst regarding a book study it held during the fall semester on “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt that took a look at the entire issue to technology and youth.
This study, in addition to teachers, also included parents, community members, and even a couple of students. This was mostly an informational item, but depending on what comes out of Topeka there is some support among the board for what would be a “bell to bell” policy barring cell phone or other personal electronic devices.
The Senate Education Committee is holding a hearing on that bill Thursday afternoon at 1:30. Among co-sponsors of it are Senators Michael Fagg of El Dorado, Steven Owens of Hesston, Tori Marie Blew of Great Bend, Michael Murphy of Sylvia and Scott Hill of Abilene.
Policy revision recommendations from the Kansas Association of School Boards were reviewed. Among those policies is a new one related to use of AI in school settings. This policy has its roots in one developed by Derby USD 260. Other major changes related to policies on discussion of controversial issues and two related to a recent US Supreme Court decision reinforcing the rights of parents to opt their children out of activities contrary to the student’s religious beliefs.
The Board approved a $2,300 grant award for the Battle of the Books program. This is where 4th and 5trh grade students at the elementary schools and McPherson Middle School where they read William Allen White Award nominee books, and then compete in trivia competitions on those books. This grant is being approved outside normal time frames as the McPherson Education Foundation Board wanted to ensure district policies were followed before applying for funds for books that ultimately go into school library circulation, which has been done.
In other actions, the Board set election of officers for July, which school districts have the option to do after the change in election dates for board members from spring to fall. The Board approved a three year health insurance consortium member agreement with the pool through ESSDACK, which is transitioning to a self-funded model. The Board had reviewed the agreement at their December meeting. The board also held a brief executive session on non-elected personnel, from which no action was taken.
