Auburn Washburn board elects leadership, approves slate of officers and designations

The Auburn Washburn Unified School District Board of Education elected Jeremy Wilts as board president and Brad Noller as vice president and approved a broad slate of appointments and administrative designations during its July 7, 2025 organizational meeting.

The actions, taken largely as routine organizational items, included the appointment of Rochelle Hite as board clerk and Jessica Roberts and Chelsea Clark as co-deputy clerks; Brett Bauer as treasurer and Patty Clarkston as deputy treasurer; Leslie M. Miller of Stevens & Brand LLP as the board attorney; and the executive director of learning services as designated hearing officer. The board also designated Silver Lake Bank as the primary official depository and named the Topeka Capital-Journal as the district's official newspaper. All of these motions passed by a 6-0 vote.

Why it matters: These annual organizational appointments establish who may act on behalf of the board and the district for routine business, financial matters and statutory compliance for the coming year.

Key administrative designations approved

- Official depositories: Silver Lake Bank (primary), plus Core Bank and Trust, Equity Bank, Capital Federal Bank, Landmark National Bank, UMB, Sunflower Bank, U.S. Bank and the Kansas State Municipal Investment Pool; the board authorized short-term deposits in other nearby banks with monthly transfers to the official depository. - Official newspaper: Topeka Capital-Journal. - Authorized representative for district school reports: Dr. Scott McWilliams (superintendent). - Official spokesperson: board president in conjunction with the superintendent. - Board attorney: Leslie M. Miller, Stevens & Brand LLP. - Purchasing agent: Brett Bauer, executive director of business services. - KPERS agent: Brett Bauer. - Emergency communications contact: Rich Jones. - Freedom of Information Officer: Dr. Scott McWilliams; copying fees set at $0.10 per page plus postage and an appropriate hourly rate for document compilation.

Discipline, attendance and hearing officers

The board adopted a detailed list of district administrators, principals and assistant principals authorized to suspend or expel students under district policy and appointed building principals and specified assistant principals as school attendance officers. Rich Jones was named the hearing officer for free and reduced-price meal application appeals; Stan Ballas was named the district food service representative. All motions were approved 6-0.

Procedure and committees

The board established its regular meeting dates and location (Schuler Education Center, 5928 SW 53rd Street, Topeka) through June 2026, and appointed board representatives and alternates to the foundation, the negotiations team and multiple subcommittees including budget, capital outlay, strategic accountability, internal audit, personnel, facility planning, employee benefits and transportation services. Those committee appointments were approved unanimously.

Votes at a glance: selected tallies

- Election of board president (Jeremy Wilts): approved 6-0. - Election of vice president (Brad Noller): approved 6-0. - Clerk (Rochelle Hite), treasurer (Brett Bauer), board attorney (Leslie M. Miller), KPERS agent (Brett Bauer), and official newspaper (Topeka Capital-Journal): each approved 6-0.

What the board did not decide

These motions were routine organizational actions and did not create new policy or substantive programmatic changes beyond the staffing and procedural assignments described above.

Ending: The organizational slate sets the administrative permissions and contacts for the coming year; the board moved next to consent business and routine agenda items.