Five members of the Girls 2023 Class 3A State Championship track team received certificates of recognition from Prairie View school board President Wade Teagarden at the board’s meeting on Aug. 15. Team members present included, from left, Wylie Teagarden, Kallie Stroup, Bree Allen, Kelsie Konitzer, and Mary Jane Britz. (Roger Sims/Linn County Journal)
By Roger Sims, Journal staff
LA CYGNE – Prairie View teachers will receive an average raise of 3.4% and support staff and administrators will receive a 3% raise across the board for this coming school year.
The Prairie View Board of Education on Tuesday, Aug. 15, unanimously approved the raise for the teachers, which adds $1,500 to the base teacher pay. That means that some teachers will receive more than the 3.4% and others will receive less, depending on where they are on the district’s certified salary scale.
Board member Brian Uphoff cast the sole “no” vote in the 5-1 decision on the 3% raise for the administrators and classified staff, which includes building maintenance, secretaries, cooks and other non-certified workers. Uphoff said he voted against the measure because he felt that those employees should get a $1,500 raise across the board.
Earlier in the meeting, Mark Hough, athletic director for the district’s high school and middle school, explained to the board what preparations had been made in the event of emergencies.
He shared with the board emergency action plans for several areas on the Prairie View campus including the stadium, gymnasiums, music rooms, gyms, weight room and wrestling room. He said the plans were the subject of the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) meeting at the beginning of the school year.
He noted that because of some recent incidents, the importance of the emergency plans became clear. He used the example of the football player for MidAmerica Nazarene University who in late July collapsed and later died because of a heat-related injury.
He said plans had been developed and once practices were further along, each of the school’s teams would run practiced drills to prepare them for quick action if something like that occurred. It was important that everyone knew what to do in the case of an emergency.
He used an example of a volleyball player that collapsed during a game. Once that happened an ambulance was called automatically, the athletic director was by her side in 30 seconds, and an automatic external defibrillator (AED) was being used on her within a minute of her collapse.
He said that was the standard they hoped to achieve, and he also said they were fortunate to have trainer Donnie Jamison on hand after school every day.
Uphoff asked whether a helicopter ambulance could land on the football field if necessary.
Hough said the helicopter could land on the practice field just south the middle school building. That field had been used before.
The board also discussed possible terms for the sale of the three-bedroom house in La Cygne that was built by students during the 2022-23 school year. The house is not complete, and the new owner would have to finish electrical work, drywall taping, interior and garage door installation, floor covers and painting as well as other items.
An open house on the residence at 402 S. Sixth St. was conducted on Thursday, Aug. 17, and bids to purchase the house are due by noon on Sept. 15. The board has the option of refusing any bid that it deems too low. The district has about $152,000 invested in the house including materials and work done by subcontractors.
Superintendent Chris Johnson, who showed the house, asked whether the board wanted to stipulate a 10% down payment upon acceptance of a bid.
Board president Wade Teagarden suggested $1,000 in earnest money after acceptance.
Johnson said she would consult with attorneys with the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) for advice. The district pays KASB an annual fee for legal advice.
In other business, the board:
Approved the resignation of Pam Peters as forensics sponsor and Holly Robinson as Parker Elementary School (PES) custodian.
Hired three people for supplemental contracts including Taylor Sanz as PVHS head cheer coach, Lana Maltbie as PVHS assistant volleyball coach, and Larry Pope as PVMS assistant volleyball coach.
Hired five people for staff support positions including Beth Smith as an aide at La Cygne Elementary School (LES), Matthew Hankin as a cook, Megan Stroup as an aide at PES, Jeanette Wiesner as a cook, and Laura Fletcher as a PVHS custodian.
Approved seven out-of-district student transfers including a third-grader, two pre-K, and one middle school student from Osawatomie; a pre-K student from Amoret, Mo.; a pre-K student from Jayhawk; and a pre-K student from Anderson County.
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