BUHLER, Kan. (June 9, 2025) – The Buhler USD 313 Board of Education met Monday night to recognize student athlete’s achievements and discuss changes for the 2025-2026 school year. Buhler High School teams recognized were the Boys Tennis Team, Girls Swim and Dive, Boys Golf Team, Track and Field, and the Fishing Team.
The board voted in favor of the consent agenda, which included the meal price increases for 2025-2026; a proposed fifty cent increase for breakfast, ten cent increase for elementary lunch, and fifteen cent increase for middle school and high school lunch. The price of reduced breakfast and lunch will not increase.
One item on the agenda was the Kids Collective Contract. The Reno County Child Care Task Force has received funds from the American Rescue Plan Act- ARPA to address sustainability of child care in Reno County. Kids Collective is a new nonprofit organization that has been launched to provide high quality child care across the region.
Heather Faulkner of Kids Collective shared a proposed contract with the board to enter into a partnership with USD 313. This partnership would allow Kids Collective to lease child care space from USD 313, with the district covering facility maintenance and overhead costs while Kids Collective would assume full responsibility for the licensed operation of the facility in accordance with local, state, and federal regulations. Legal counsel is reviewing the lease agreement, although the lease agreements for each location will vary slightly due to the specifics of each location. Their timeline estimates the lease agreement will be signed by July 2025 with an operational transition in August 2025. While all parties acknowledged that the timeline was aggressive, they said that it is still the goal.
The motion to move forward and continue working toward this partnership was passed, and Cindy Couchman-Superintendent of Schools was authorized to continue to negotiate lease terms with Kids Collective.
The board also approved the supplemental contracts for the 2025-2026 school year, and once again highlighted Buhler High School’s high participation in sports.
Shane Hecox provided an update on the proposed cell phone tower. The cell phone tower would be placed in Buhler at the service center by Branch Communications. Hecox is working toward a contract, and the board moved to give him authority to move forward and continue negotiating the terms of the contract.
The summer lunch program is in its second year of operation at Buhler. Last Friday, June 6th, they served 400 meals to families in the area.
