LARNED, Kan. — The Fort Larned USD 495 Board of Education Monday approved the negotiated handbook with their teachers for the 2025-26 school year. Related to that the board approved a 3.5 percent compensation increase for classified staff and for district administrators, with the contract for Elementary principal Catrina McGuirk modified to a 12-month contract and that of Superintendent Bryan Wachs extended through the 2027-28 school year.
The Board approved student fees for the 2025-26 school year, which were set at 50 dollars per year per student, with the fee waived for students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals.
A just over $900,000 contact with Building Control Systems was approved to replace the chiller and control systems at Larned Middle School, which has been identified as the district’s biggest current facility need.
The existing chiller and controls are near end of life, and are having ongoing problems with temperature control, equipment reliability, and ongoing maintenance. The BCS bid was based on contract pricing through the Greenbush Cooperative.
The Board was presented a revised technology handbook which includes a revision in how students will report device damage or loss, along with updating replacement costs for non-warranty items such as charger for Chromebooks, charging cables for iPads, charging bricks, and Chromebook cases.
Board members also received a number of policy recommendations from the Kansas Association of School Boards, which it will consider at their July meeting which has been moved up a week to July 7th.
The Board approved purchase of smart board NEXT boards, which plug into the existing smart boards giving them a much-needed update, and it authorized Superintendent Bryan Wachs and Treasurer Hannah Smith to make any year-end financial adjustments as needed,
There was a discussion on the potential of contracting with Enterprise Fleet Management to handle the district’s passenger vehicles. This agreement would cover everything from buying and financing vehicles to licensing, customizing, and eventually selling them after five years.
The plan is to retain three of the vehicles the district already owns and add seven more vehicles through Enterprise, by which the district would be able to take advantage of their buying power to save money versus buying them on their own. If this is approved most of the cost would be covered through the capital outlay budget along with the Tri-County Special Education Cooperative and the Driver’s Education program.
In the Board Spotlight portion of the meeting, Board member Brent Hemken recognized the work of Craig Lyman and the Larned High School band students, along with Chris Scheideman for his leadership of the LHS forensics program.
