Board hears first read on policy updates and calendar change; approves Ramsey Finance curriculum contract

At its Feb. 3 meeting the Garden City Board of Education took a first read on multiple policy updates from the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) and related providers, discussed emergency-medication language and a proposed shift to the 2025–26 spring break, and approved a seven-year contract for Ramsey Education’s Foundations in Personal Finance curriculum.

Josh Gidman, deputy superintendent, said the changes presented were the December batch of updates recommended by KASB and related reviewers. He said the packet included recommended additions, deletions and revisions; two policies (CD and CGI) were proposed for removal because their language had been consolidated elsewhere. Gidman told the board Jennifer Cunningham reviewed the materials and recommended one technical change in Policy CC (changing “may” to “shall”), which Gidman incorporated into the copy in the packet.

Emergency medication and health protocols: Board members asked about the district’s readiness to provide emergency medications. Gidman said the district already maintains epinephrine in stock so staff could administer epinephrine in a suspected anaphylactic event even when no student prescription is on file; the district is not yet rolling out additional stock albuterol but indicated it could in future. Board member Nathan asked about NARCAN; staff said a policy for NARCAN already exists and that NARCAN is on hand at the high school and the middle schools.

Calendar change: Drew Towers presented a first read on a proposed change to the 2025–26 calendar. The district proposes moving spring break from the week of March 9 to the week of March 16 so the district calendar aligns with Kansas Board of Regents spring break dates. To accommodate the shift, a professional-development day originally scheduled for March 20 would move to March 13 and would be run as a teacher-release in-service day (teachers who document eight hours of professional development outside the contract day could take March 13 off). Gidman said the change will return for final approval at a later meeting.

Curriculum contract approved: The board voted to approve a seven-year contract with Ramsey Education for Foundations in Personal Finance, covering June 2025 through June 2032, at a quoted cost of $31,270.69. Gidman said the curriculum will meet the district’s financial-literacy graduation requirement for incoming freshmen while remaining available to other grades as a math elective. The motion to approve the contract was made by board member John and seconded by board member Mark; the board approved the contract.

Ending: Gidman said additional policy work and a separate classified-handbook revision will return in May, and that staff will bring a recommended policy on in-district transfers to the board at a future meeting.