[{"_1":2,"_124":-5,"_125":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100,112],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6566098,"mediaKeyId","3206964-26049614bbf13928ba4a94e800248e8e","parentId",3206964,"title","District leaders warn recent state funding cuts will shift mentor, PD and safe-schools costs to local budget","audioSeconds",464,"startMs",3215000,"endMs",3679000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3206964-26049614bbf13928ba4a94e800248e8e&start=3215&end=3679","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3206964-26049614bbf13928ba4a94e800248e8e/thumbnail_3215000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6566098/Kansas/District-leaders-warn-recent-state-funding-cuts-will-shift-mentor-PD-and-safe-schools-costs-to-local-budget","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6566098-6f0bd42fe455f06702acfbc68b06a3cd/orig.mp4?Expires=1775302253&Signature=L-Eu~sK~up9FQ5gOPFdxindnA4hrkVh26nM6fnmwKk30Qqo4zaxz08t35mQO8hSqhQLNgcxcvPoePi-O9RFjGYCKSXbrE-5CkHHIaKQx6uNgWZmXkacGbv6ULbhviFFtMyhswH~BvpHg2WO31ZiWlUMu6tXBEB7YO42rtAw5btg9aNuJISU5W8CssMLYn0K9gksRPY0sZZoNGyvnI4kD4~lbUdEGvWuLwA92Hj5OqxUrxm5NylXuquDlWsdyZpo2tOEvc87MfyCYF8plsTWju7Mh2hSb5JjyovHgEZBvUF7OULJ6E~LBaR~wnVZTTWpx5Whxy2m4h-KplvD2mzAUkA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Geary County Schools USD 475","date","2025-05-07T14:05:33Z","article","District administrators told the Geary County Schools Board of Education that recent legislative actions have reduced or eliminated state reimbursements for multiple programs the district previously received. Superintendent-level staff listed reimbursements that will no longer come to the district or will be reduced: mentor teacher reimbursement, national board certification reimbursement, safe-and-secure schools reimbursement, and professional development reimbursement.

Administrators said the district will need to absorb those costs in the general fund for the 2025–26 school year unless state allocations change. They also identified several known and estimated cost increases the district must plan for: a 7.4% increase in the district's insurance costs and planning for a 10% increase in gas and electric. Staff said the district will determine annual water costs for a new sprinkler system once a final configuration is chosen.

The district is continuing LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) training for teachers; administrators said some LETRS costs were funded with federal ESSER dollars previously but that reimbursement through the state is uncertain. Staff said they do not yet know whether any state reimbursement for LETRS will be available after July.

Board members and administrators discussed that the State Board and legislature have shifted funding decisions and that mandated work (for example, safe schools practices and teacher mentoring) remains required even as funding decreases. Administrators said they are reviewing budgets and may need to make prioritization decisions and reduce or reallocate spending to meet obligations.

Ending: The board was briefed on the need to balance the general fund and prioritize required work for the coming year; district staff said they will return with budget planning details.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","USD 475 - Board of Education Retreat | May 6, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","District administrators told the Geary County Schools board that recent state budget actions cut reimbursements for mentor teachers, professional development, national board certification and safe-and-secure schools, shifting those costs to the district's general fund.","taxTitle","Geary County Schools, School Boards, Kansas","taxId",38451,"location","Kansas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6566103,"District reports higher family survey participation, modest gains in engagement scores",266,2141000,2407000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3206964-26049614bbf13928ba4a94e800248e8e&start=2141&end=2407","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3206964-26049614bbf13928ba4a94e800248e8e/thumbnail_2141000.jpg","/articles/6566103/Kansas/District-reports-higher-family-survey-participation-modest-gains-in-engagement-scores","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6566103-b3376b82f23f7ac03fdfcadd4218bf6a/orig.mp4?Expires=1775302253&Signature=APsKTI4vzVHu4AnyW2Ta7c2aMIfyaxec3nxxwpcnNa23RvPXIehZBGh3j5RaolxP2eQ~~VIK~FZlxdMGL5mCUDLeTMWIFoiAAG2S4ucxHZv-K23QYIEH1XgUYwQHCmJQ09iZqBK-b1162MxL8ui57kiG~rgsMeYIHctC1hWQREOZlbe566EOWJ-x9AKXi5BKe14p1l3b9uv70a6rqWJxuJad4~w4niovUiw3gGrfsCT3mNUFPf2tmzq~7kJWrOXy37NVWPkh4DBY1M7MHqRNDYDBySmn8Ml5LeKPmAMEklaDZt755txjap~dppr-6J3DcZ7zeaXDpbztWe4GtYxxjw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Geary County Schools presented results from its annual family engagement survey during the board meeting, reporting an increase in participation to 969 responses this year from 618 responses last year.

The district said the survey, administered through a vendor (TASIN) during parent-teacher conference time, uses a Likert scale from 1 to 5 and produces sub-scores for welcoming environment, effective communication, supporting student learning, sharing power and advocacy, and community involvement. The superintendent's presentation gave district-average scores for last year and this year; examples cited in the meeting include a previous welcoming-environment score of 3.78 and an overall district average of 3.68 in the prior year. Staff said each category increased this year, and noted that multiple questions in the welcoming-environment category were above 4.0.

Staff highlighted strengths: improved participation, growth across all categories and subgroups, high ratings for staff being welcoming to families and for communication in families' preferred languages, and strong teacher-family information exchange during conferences. Areas for improvement identified in the presentation included community involvement and \"sharing power and advocacy,\" where scores remained lower than other categories (presentation figures showed community involvement and sharing power scores below the highest-rated categories). One example given was the question asking whether parents receive positive feedback from teachers, which moved from about 3.25 to about 3.75.

Board members asked whether the district could provide per-school percentage response rates (responses as a share of each school's families). Staff said they will provide the individual-school comment sets and will try to compute percentage-of-families response rates, but that the current distributed reports show raw counts by school, not percentages.

Ending: The district plans to repeat the survey next year during the second semester and will continue to share building-level results with site councils and leadership teams; staff said they have planned professional development for administrators to address areas for improvement.","Geary County Schools presented results from its annual family engagement survey, reporting 969 responses (up from 618) and small increases across categories including welcoming environment, communication and support for student learning; per-school breakdowns and percentage-of-family response rates will be provided later.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6566108,"Board approves Hutton guaranteed maximum price for summer paving projects and Eisenhower furniture; members discuss fence upgrades",397,1735000,2132000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3206964-26049614bbf13928ba4a94e800248e8e&start=1735&end=2132","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3206964-26049614bbf13928ba4a94e800248e8e/thumbnail_1735000.jpg","/articles/6566108/Kansas/Board-approves-Hutton-guaranteed-maximum-price-for-summer-paving-projects-and-Eisenhower-furniture-members-discuss-fence-upgrades","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6566108-585f40fed369c7e8706078960238a904/orig.mp4?Expires=1775302253&Signature=mqCtAUzJwfz94Bl9RHW0iZy0XMlArDOB1MqJsWdyHw3NUq3yOD5wC2xNT8snpO6AOvwZNGMOidZqvks24qJLc3JNI1oR4APRocH~u6NdSC6MevoWnUOxLtLn7odud464ytbxwMnWzXBO6Dxo3IZs23~Z9MbmC-wchVA3wMf4PT02SCU38Lnp2DJdLiRgL-LT9gz7VuRQ0qeVrxsszOfX3fIRXQr9zJMudMUGyTWotu0Nwf2mTEKSGhbYiMZOZ~69FEF3qPARZ9CejnTdpSmioqBpXtJGjaEpMMAiXdxplzd7cA~ey1g5h87z4K5BHLHV~Wdb91YT2ruAZm5-uL5PxA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Geary County Schools Board of Education voted to approve a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) from Hutton to complete the district's summer paving projects and separately approved a furniture purchase for Eisenhower Elementary. Both motions passed unanimously, with recorded tallies of 6-0.

During discussion before the vote, district operations staff described planned summer work that includes replacing cracked concrete at Spring Valley Elementary, repairing a leaning retaining wall at Sheridan near the playground exit, replacing heaving door stoops, and finishing furniture replacement projects started last year at Eisenhower. Staff also said the district plans small, targeted concrete replacements across buildings and replacement of teacher desks and tables at Eisenhower.

Board members raised safety concerns and asked staff to prioritize adding and closing gaps in playground fencing across schools. Staff said the district estimates about a half-mile of fencing would be required to fully enclose playgrounds and that they are exploring grants to fund fencing. The board discussed that most gates would not be intended to be locked at all times, allowing public use of playgrounds outside school hours. Trustees and staff noted the need to balance available budget with competing summer projects.

The transcript records the GMP amount in the presentation as \"a hundred and 30 9 thousand,\" but the exact dollar figure was unclear in the audio record and was not corroborated with a written figure in the meeting's public remarks on the transcript. Likewise, the furniture purchase amount for Eisenhower Elementary was stated in the transcript as \"USD $4.75\" and the precise dollar total is unclear from the audio. The board's votes were recorded on the meeting transcript as passing 6-0.

Ending: Staff said they will continue seeking safety and security grant funding to help cover fence work and other security projects; no specific grant award or contract schedule was recorded during the meeting.","The board approved a guaranteed maximum price from Hutton for summer paving projects and approved a furniture purchase for Eisenhower Elementary; trustees also discussed prioritizing playground fencing across district schools and seeking safety/security grants.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6566110,"Geary County Schools board approves right-of-way for Kansas Gas Service to serve new early childhood center",99,1666000,1765000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3206964-26049614bbf13928ba4a94e800248e8e&start=1666&end=1765","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3206964-26049614bbf13928ba4a94e800248e8e/thumbnail_1666000.jpg","/articles/6566110/Kansas/Geary-County-Schools-board-approves-right-of-way-for-Kansas-Gas-Service-to-serve-new-early-childhood-center","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6566110-0b3c096b560f96dccd197420916f5f22/orig.mp4?Expires=1775302253&Signature=kZVPQ31etrTgQCqaEc1t7nfrKvRTslB~c-t~-Y0BxmS081ifu7kUhS3aXZSVSgWjJrFUIx~QCArJ2fxeqDk7GsSUAdBSFmcK92A4W9ZtlPDTQ~j-YhekR2cruCmk2jxiHmJy~V8sswF~U0NPQusPf~y0ZIE2iiyVoqr-E5nVVeiR2kU9ym4ypIw47Fr4JzGcRsxAUgmgYQw6hNzECqLnFoECob5pnOaC0c5Zy2dBaXQPdliMaIQafcSQpjN2CwxN8lv~9tB55ZuVO1pFcfiexrWNfuSmxURGjpGoj94Zh0odxFxwemZKZoZg0q3tZgVHXkvA3~J2iFDbwoSp~G7fnQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Geary County Schools Board of Education unanimously approved a request to grant a right-of-way to Kansas Gas Service to run a line north from Barnhill Circle to the district's early childhood center. The project was presented during the action-items portion of the meeting by a district staff member who described the intended route to the early childhood center.

The board recorded a 6-0 vote to approve the right-of-way. The transcript shows the motion was called and seconded and that the board indicated \"All in favor. Aye\" followed by a 6-0 tally.

Ending: The board did not attach conditions to the approval on the meeting record; next steps and timeline for the gas-service work were not specified in the transcript.","The board voted 6-0 to grant a right-of-way to Kansas Gas Service to run a gas line that will reach the district's early childhood center; presentation and vote occurred during the action items portion of the meeting.",{"_33":113,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":114,"_41":115,"_43":116,"_45":117,"_47":118,"_49":119,"_51":120,"_53":121,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":122,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":123,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6566115,"Parent tells Geary County Schools board administrators ignored restraining order after alleged assault at Junction City Middle School",293,1326000,1619000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3206964-26049614bbf13928ba4a94e800248e8e&start=1326&end=1619","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3206964-26049614bbf13928ba4a94e800248e8e/thumbnail_1326000.jpg","/articles/6566115/Kansas/Parent-tells-Geary-County-Schools-board-administrators-ignored-restraining-order-after-alleged-assault-at-Junction-City-Middle-School","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6566115-b8cb37a1bb1b13cfe892ed459b73f86f/orig.mp4?Expires=1775302253&Signature=ojXFjRV30LIYXbLP-N46nIYcHO3HFMA5SETGDkuDh8mORShW6H4Yg5bQL4uyK6tNlRUcrzicR9tWlFiYBz8Q3SIGRFrJO7T-gF6JJWunrO9lZTnrsJo5l0W8WckJBkuTlYgyB0j0RWoFlnF2haMnADich1N0vt-Gazx7GDYZeBP9FgLQZL242JaWxpesOwEDOlpSK3eiLGM3HGidoXc85SxXMJvO1sMGZqga6chbYHJJa-uBDZBK02wwYQOenazBvSwEVdaW1hJ~H6vrODFheBktG02UYcV1Pp-h-Wd9yd8Am6cN~JCiCmsGSvkyD97BYCe8QAGVX5dJIPYpdSyIRQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Michael Miller, identifying himself as a Junction City resident, told the Geary County Schools Board of Education during public comment that his daughters were sexually assaulted at Junction City Middle School and that school officials have not protected them despite a court-ordered restraining order. \"You have failed to protect my children even though it's mandated by the court to limit interactions between these children,\" Miller said. He said he filed a criminal complaint and raised concerns that the school continued to place his daughters in proximity to the student he accused.

His daughter, Brooklyn Miller, also spoke during the public comment period. She told the board she and her sister continue to encounter the other student at school and described how school staff chose not to move the other student because doing so, staff said, would negatively affect that student. \"They're only protecting the abuser,\" Brooklyn Miller said, adding that it is \"very detrimental\" to her daily school experience.

Both speakers said the district did not share the restraining order with teachers, and that an interaction occurred in a hallway where teachers were present but unaware of the court order. Michael Miller told the board he has considered pursuing a Title IX complaint and said he planned to seek legal counsel and contact the press if the school did not act.

The board did not take any formal action on the allegations during the meeting; the comments were part of the public comment period and no follow-up motion or assignment was recorded on the transcript.

The board's public comment rules were read at the start of the meeting: speakers must complete a form, state their name and address, and are limited to three minutes. The transcript records Miller's address as 1409 Spring Hill Drive, Junction City.

The district has not provided additional documentation or a formal response in the meeting record. The board's next steps on this specific complaint were not stated on the record.

Ending: The public-comment speakers asked the board to intervene and indicated they will pursue outside legal and media avenues if they do not receive a response from the district.","At the public comment portion of the Geary County Schools board meeting, a Junction City father and his daughter said school staff failed to isolate a student accused of assaulting the daughters and did not share a court-ordered restraining order with teachers; no formal board action was recorded.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

District leaders warn recent state funding cuts will shift mentor, PD and safe-schools costs to local budget

District reports higher family survey participation, modest gains in engagement scores

Board approves Hutton guaranteed maximum price for summer paving projects and Eisenhower furniture; members discuss fence upgrades

Geary County Schools board approves right-of-way for Kansas Gas Service to serve new early childhood center

Parent tells Geary County Schools board administrators ignored restraining order after alleged assault at Junction City Middle School