Enrollment is down in USD 327 for the 2024-25 school year, Superintendent Deena Hilbig told the board of education during Monday night’s Ellsworth-Kanopolis-Geneseo USD 327 Board of Education meeting.

“I think it’s important to be transparent with our community,” she said.

The head count on Sept. 20 was 629 this year, versus 642.5 the previous year. Students have different weighting, based on transportation or special education needs, making “half ” of a student a possible number, Hilbig explained to the board.

“The funding we have moving into next year is going to be based on 629 at best. That’s because of a change in legislation,” she said.

The funding formula points to the district having only $130,000 worth of “new money” for the 2025-26 school year.

“I think it’s important to think about fixed costs,” Hilbig said. “We know there will be insurance, utility, fuel increases.”

In order to consider raises for teachers and staff, Hilbig said the board will have to prioritize hiring as it moves forward.

“I think it’s important to consider what will make the most impact for our students,” she said. “We had a library opening we were unable to fill. We had a request for a fourth to eighth grade interventionist.

“If we had to choose … that’s where we are at. I can’t support hiring both because we can’t fund both with only $130,000 in new money.”

Hilbig said the drop in attendance results from the graduation of the class of 2024.

“We had a large senior class last year,” she said. “We had a small kindergarten class come in.”

In order to help numbers for the 2025-26 school year, Hilbig said staff is focusing on recruiting kindergarten students. Kindergarten roundup is set for 5 p.m. April 22.

“I’m asking all of you, if you know individuals 5 on or before Aug. 1, it’s important to get them enrolled in pre-planning,” Hilbig said. “The reality is because we lost 20 students and only enrolled seven since then, we’re losing more than we’re gaining.

“I think we’ll have to make some real difficult decisions as we look at budget and needs assessments.”

Hilbig said focusing on student achievement will be a priority.

“I do think we’re seeing our numbers with student achievement inch forward,” she said. “I think we have been good stewards financially with curriculum. We have seen improvements in our math scores as a result.”

In other items, the board:

• Discussed, but took no action on, the proposed needs assessment with Maria Kutina from HTK Architects, Topeka.

“It’s recommended to have a plan in place,” Kutina said. “Five years out, 10 years out, 20 years out.

“It’s something having the long range plan helps you feel like you’re moving in the right direction.”

She said her team discusses needs with building and district leadership, assesses all facilities, compares current buildings and facilities to others, refines the plan and provides a final document.

“She had a proposal for Emporia — each building was broken down by needs,” Hilbig said. “As we start working forward, we need to have conversations so we can identify needs in our attendance centers or district office, transportation.”

She said as the district continues to move forward with capital improvements, it could be helpful to have a plan of action, with priorities.

“It’s easy to identify things we can see,” Hilbig said. “It’s the things we can’t see that need attention — HVAC, plumbing, electrical — making sure we are good stewards with the money we have through capital outlay.”

• Gave approval to Transportation Director P.J. Weinhold to move forward with a request for proposals for a new Bearcat bus. He told the board the price could be as low as $140,000, but could increase significantly, depending on how new the bus is and how many miles are on it.

The district has had the current bus, which seats 52, for about 25 years, and replacement parts for repairs are becoming difficult to procure.

This year, the air conditioning quit working.

“When we get a warmer day, I’ll turn it on,” Weinhold said. “We’ll be coming into baseball and softball and track season.”

He said there are lease options for about $3,600 per month.

“If we got into a situation where air conditioning didn’t work in the spring, we could lease if we absolutely had to,” Hilbig said.

• Accepted multiple grants and gifts, including $500 Cyber Grants Program at ONEOK from Bernie Schulte earmarked for baseball; $125 from Gamma Tau for spelling bee expenses and $10,000 from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation for greenhouse upgrades.

Acknowledged the Jan. 28 basketball ticket buyout by Wildlife Properties Land Company.

• Approved selling or disposing of a printer and two cutters from the business lab.

• Hilbig told board members advocating at the state level for funding is essential during this legislative season.

“Last year we gained $77,000,” she said. “It helped us significantly. I’m thankful to Mr. (Troy) Waymaster in helping to push that through. We need to continue to lobby for more funding. It will help us keep money in our general fund.”

• Board member David Hand said will not seek re-election.

• The board went into executive session for 15 minutes to discuss teacher negotiations. No action was taken.

• The board went into executive session for 25 minutes to discuss nonelected personnel. No action was taken.

• The board went into executive session for 10 minutes to discuss nonelected personnel. Following the executive session, the board hired: Hires: Brenda Rathbun, substitute bus driver Harley Ruckman, bus driver Transfers: Bobby Crnkovic from bus driver to full-time night custodian Resignations (at the end of the year): Bryce Wilson, band Jenny Freeman, high school biology, A&P, health and intro to health care Resignations (effective immediately): Katy Cole, EJSHS junior high volleyball J.D. Buggeln, junior high assistant girls’ basketball Kari Kephart, grades 4-8 interventionist

• The board went into executive session for 25 minutes to discuss nonelected personnel (principal contracts). Following the session the board renewed contracts for 2025-26 school year for administrators Sheila Shaffer, Kristy Rodriguez, John Cannon and Ron Davis. The board also approved contracts for K.D. Stover CTE, coordinator/ teacher, and Dan Magie, director of curriculum and instruction.

The next board meeting will be at 7 p.m. March 10 at the district office.