Archive for the ‘Garden City USD 457’ Category:
Superintendent stays in Garden City
On Friday Garden City Superintendent Rick Atha declined a job offer in Hutchinson.
After last night’s Garden City USD 457 Board of Education meeting, Atha said that staying in Garden City was the best decision for him and his wife. He said that although moving to Hutchinson would put them closer to their children and grandchildren in Kansas City, they enjoy Garden City and are active in the community.
Last night the board thanked Atha for staying and gave him a standing ovation.
Also at the meeting the board increased Atha’s salary by $7,100. Check today’s newspaper for more details.
Subscribe to the comments for this postSuperintendent interviews at Hutch
Garden City Superintendent Rick Atha is interviewing for the superintendent job at Hutchinson today.
Atha is one of three candidates vying for the job. Another candidate, Jim Lentz, is a former Garden City superintendent. Here’s a story from The Hutchinson News on Lentz and here’s a story from The Telegram on Atha.
Also, here’s some information comparing the two school districts from The News:
School district comparison
Hutchinson: 4,917 students, 10 schools, $62 million budget, 439.9 certified employees, 303.6 non-certified employees, superintendent salary $185,273, average teacher salary $50,904.
Garden City: 7,461 students, 17 schools, $83.9 million budget, 687.9 certified teachers, 433 non-certified positions, superintendent salary $150,775, average teacher salary $52,159.
SOURCE: Kansas State Department of Education
Bond Project photos
I posted a link to the school district’s website, which was recently revamped, a few weeks ago. On Monday the board of education heard a presentation over the new website from Roy Cessna, public information coordinator, and Kris Sisk, software support specialist.
Sisk and Cessna walked through some new features of the website, including a page that updates readers on the bond projects.
To get to the page, go to the school district’s website, then click on ‘facilities bond’ at the top of the page. Then, click on ’status update.’ Or, click here.
The page brings up photos that the school district has taken at the new high school site, along with news releases from Cessna.
Students getting laptops?
Students who attend the new high school in 2012 may get laptops.
USD 457 is looking into whether there is educational value in giving high school students laptops. On Monday night the Garden City USD 457 Board of Education entered into an agreement with Twotrees Technologies, Wichita, to develop classroom management strategies for teachers and assist in developing goals and objectives for the laptop initiative.
Superintendent Rick Atha said last week that the idea is still in the infancy stage, and the district isn’t sure yet on what brand of computer might be issued to students, or what the cost of the computers will be.
The construction of the new high school is under budget, Atha said, and the extra money could be spent giving each student at GCHS a laptop.
What do you think?