CLAFLIN — The Central Plains Board of Education USD 112 held a hearing and subsequently passed a resolution regarding enrollment of nonresidential students.

Kansas law requires boards to allow nonresidential students to enroll if they do not cause an excess in capacity explained USD 112 Superintendent Bill Lowry. Nothing but expulsion can prevent enrollment according to the statute. According to census information, the district population has declined from 3,684 in 2010 to 3,512 in 2020.

The board also accepted and approved the 20222023 audit report. Not much was of note according to the auditor, however, there was an increase of about $500,000 this year in funds and all expenditures came in under budget for the year.

The auditors did find a couple discrepancies. At one point, Wilson High School utilized funds from the activity fund for lobbying. This is not allowed by state statute. The funds were reimbursed prior to the audit, but it was noted that it shouldn’t happen in the future. Another discrepancy was that of an activity fund that was labeled “Alumni T-shirts.” That, too, should not have been used from the activity fund, as activity funds should be used for activities for students.

Bids came back for a new HVAC system at Central Plains Jr./Sr. High School and came in over budget. The budget for the project was set at $350,000 and the lowest of three bids was $480,600. The board asked that other avenues be explored before signing off on something so far over budget. The issue will be revisited in 30 days. A vote was raised to move forward with the purchase, but it did not pass with only two in favor and four against.

The board accepted the resignation of Toby Holmes as principal of Central Plains Elementary School effective at the end of this school year.

Parent teacher conferences were held last month. According to reports, 95 percent of families were represented at Central Plains Elementary, 40 percent were present at Central Plains Jr./Sr. High School and 100 percent at Wilson Elementary School.

Lowry reported that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment called to review the status of the asbestos report.

“We were out of compliance when I came in July of 2022. As soon as I discovered we were out of compliance, I scheduled an inspection,” he said. “The inspection came back good. The inspection put us back into compliance.”