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Board adopts curricular materials; staff warns state reimbursement falls short by roughly $2 million
Summary
The board approved adoption of multiple curricular materials including high-school career certification courses and K'5 math resource i-Ready; staff reported the state reimbursement covers a portion of materials costs and that the district has covered a reported roughly $2 million shortfall through technology funding and the education fund.
The board approved the recommended curricular materials for 2025-26 after presentations from curriculum staff. Presenters highlighted new career and technical education materials at the high school (including an insurance certification pathway, Johnson County advanced manufacturing materials and a pharmacy technician certification offered via an outside vendor called KLR), middle-school art materials (Art of Education University flex curriculum and a planned author visit by Gordon Korman), and elementary recommendations including i-Ready as a K-5 math resource (recommended as a two-year agreement) and a one-year agreement for a digital PE platform.
Shannon Carol Frey and Megan Curtis explained that teachers and administrators participated in the review and vetting process, which began in the fall and included public display of materials before the board vote. The presenters said materials with large per-student prices are typically for dual-credit courses or curriculum where university partners choose materials.
Finance context: staff reported that curricular-materials costs total about $376 per student and, when multiplied by the district's student population, the presentation reported a total materials cost a little over $3.36 million. The presentation reported state reimbursement of about $1.5 million, leaving an approximate shortfall of $2 million. Staff said the district has covered part of the gap by allocating $1 million toward purchase of technology devices needed to run digital platforms and by using roughly $900,000 from the education fund. Staff said other districts face similar shortfalls and noted the district is exploring options such as charging modest supply fees (an example figure cited by staff from other districts was about $30) for consumable items; any such fee would be brought to the board for approval.
Action taken: a motion to adopt the curricular materials was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.
Staff said the district negotiated shorter agreements where feasible (for example, a two-year contract for i-Ready rather than a typical six-year textbook cycle) to retain flexibility while the district assesses its funding position and program duplication.
