Baker sees plenty of change on horizon

Nebraska Sen. Tom Baker of Trenton told McCook Public Schools board of education members Monday evening, "There's just enough change (in Lincoln) to go around this year, and next year too."

Baker said the state doesn't have a governor as such, since President Bush selected Gov. Mike Johanns to be the nation's agriculture secretary. "We felt something was happening," Baker said. "It's just an awkward bit of timing."

Baker called it an "unsettled time," in Lincoln, as lawmakers wonder whose budget they'll see -- Johanns's, or Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman's. "Who's going to be chief of staff?" Baker asked.

Baker said, however, he foresees no big changes in the state's formula for aid to schools. "We have to look at it," he said. "But I don't anticipate any big changes."

Baker said the Transportation Committee is discussing whether school buses need seat belts. Federal guidelines, he said, indicate that school buses are engineered so that seat belts are not needed.

Another bill having to do with school buses would eliminate the slower speed limit for buses after sundown. "It's a safety concern," Baker said. The bill has lots of support, he said, and would have been addressed last session, but senators "just ran out of time."

The reorganization of Class I's may become Lincoln senator Scott Raikes's priority bill, Baker said, and that bill could affect Districts 8 and 41 in Red Willow County. The bill doesn't propose closing attendance centers that are 15 miles or further from an affiliated high school, Baker said.

Duane Tappe, retiring director of Educational Service Unit 15, told board members changes in the make-up of the state's ESU's may be in the works.

Tappe said directors and board members of ESU 15 and ESU 16, based in North Platte, discussed the possibility of reorganizing into "ESU 15 1/2," during a joint meeting Oct. 26.

Tappe said there are pitfalls to this plan, including increased transportation costs and the loss of about $122,000 a year in state aid starting two years from now.

Superintendents and school boards in each of the school districts served by the two ESU's will be asked to act on a resolution to determine the number of schools interested in the two ESU's working together.

Another possible change on the horizon, according to board president Greg Larson, is a merger being discussed by the executive committees of the McCook and Culbertson school boards.

Larson said more information on the process would be available in January.

Board members accepted the bid from Trenton Electric (TECO Inc.), of McCook, to install electrical wiring for the elementary school project.

Trenton Electric's bid was $519,625.

Other bids were: Steve's Electric, $344,251; Sampson Construction, $530,400; Snell Services, $573,100; and Middleton Electric, $579,275.

With the completion of the new elementary facility, East Ward and the Special Education Center on Highway 83 will no longer be in use.

In action Monday, the board authorized Superintendent Dr. Don Marchant to declare buildings surplus and determine the program usage of all school buildings.

Programs Committee member Jack Clark said the district's in-school suspension program could possibly make use of the East Ward or SPED center. He also said the building which houses the district's LIFT (alternative high school) program is for sale, so that program, too, might be able to use the vacated school buildings.

The board accepted, with gratitude, these donations to be used for the construction of the locker room/restrooms facility at Weiland Field:

* $2,500, from the McCook Radio Group.

* $2,500, from First Central Bank.

* $1,000, from Kinder Morgan KM for Kids.

* $2,500, from an anonymous donor, in memory of teacher/coach Ron Coleman, who died Nov. 30, following an accident at his home.

Following a 1 1/2-hour closed session, board members voted to extend Dr. Marchant's contract to June 30, 2007. The board also increased the superintendent's compensation package by 8 percent.

In other action:

* Student Council members Katie and Ashley Kilgore told board members their organization raised $354 for the McCook Pantry in its "Back in the Day ... " dance. The group plans another benefit dance, the girls said.

* Jay Austin, owner of Austin McCook LLC radio stations Coyote Country and the Prairie, told board members he will start streaming school board meetings live on the Internet, starting in January. Board member Jim Coady said this would help the board meet its goal of reaching as many patrons as possible.

* Board Secretary Mike Gonzales congratulated Junior High Principal Dennis Berry for his election as mayor of McCook.