HOLYROOD — The Central Plains USD 112 Board of Education approved a contract to mitigate asbestos at Central Plains Jr./Sr. High School during the Dec. 9 board meeting.

USD 112 Superintendent Bob Murphy said two of the three companies he reached out to submitted bids.

The board approved a contract with ACM for $62,975.

“ACM was only company to send a person out to take measurements, walk the hallways before they put the bid together,” Murphy said.

The mitigation, which is set to take place after June 15, should take three or four weeks.

Once the mitigation is complete, Murphy said an air quality test will be administered.

“Once they do the air quality test, it’s a threeday turnaround,” he said.

Only once the test is passed will building staff be able to return to that portion of CPJSHS to do any work, such as waxing the floors or installing new ceiling tiles.

In other business:

• Murphy said a lease for the district’s day care in Holyrood will be about $9,000 per year for two rooms.

During updates from the superintendent, Murphy told the board furnishings are being purchased for the rooms in Holyrood. He said the day care rooms (Holyrood and Wilson) are being added to the insurance policy for about $1,000 per year.

Murphy also said the Holyrood facility is opening applications for nonfaculty families.

“(We’re) not promising anybody spots yet,” he said. “(We’re) still waiting on final sign off from fire marshal.”

He also said KDSE still has to complete its onsite inspection.

• Dave Wirth praised CPJSHS Principal Jessica Murphy for assisting his granddaughter.

“She took it upon herself to help her with her homework to go beyond what was expected,” he said.

• Twice, the board discussed a CMC machine. Wirth told the board during public comment community members are willing to help pay for the equipment. He said while new machines run $30,000-$40,000, used ones can be in the $100,000 price range.

“I would like to do some fundraising to help this happen,” Wirth said.

During the superintendent’s report, Murphy said there is a used CMC machine in Lorraine. CPJSHS staff will review the machine and see if it is a good fit for the school’s academic goals.

• Central Plains Elementary School Principal Jane Oeser reported on recent events, including a project for sixth grade students with robots. Students are set to attend a competition in Hays.

She also said students are raising money for Keren Comfort Dog, who visits the school twice a month.

Oeser said the school held a food drive to assist the church. She also said CPJSHS students collaborated with the elementary school on a giving tree to help provide gifts for 28 students.

She also said H&B Communications provided food to 14 families recently.

• Wilson Elementary School Principal Karin Mohr said she recently received her principal’s license.

“(I wish to) express my gratitude for the opportunity,” she said. “I hope I can continue to serve.”

Mohr also reported on the Festival of Trees.

Community members will be invited to the school commons to be able to view the trees, enjoy sugar cookies and performances by students.

Enrollment recently increased to 80 students. Mohr said there are no openings at the Wilson day care.

“We have 13 on the wait list,” she said. “Mr. Murphy and I are looking to see what shift we can do to get the (additional rooms) open.”

Mohr said she would like to explore the option for birth-5 screenings for students at the day care to be able to provide support services as early as possible, if needed.

• Jessica Murphy said the basketball teams are preparing to add a tournament to the schedule next year.

She also said KSHSAA wants schools to focus on sportsmanship for athletes and fans alike.

“One concern was number of ejections from fans,” she said. “They’re trying to curb some of that. I think it’s a great opportunity to talk about sportsmanship with our kids. Hopefully they’ll encourage their parents to be good sportsmanship at the games.”

She said about 50 students are in athletics, and when academic activities are included, the participation number jumps to nearly 75 percent of the student body.

She said the school is working to assist seniors with FAFSA forms.

She also said the giving tree had 56 gifts, and most were selected.

Student groups will be caroling.

• For school accreditation, the superintendent said the district opted to focus on standards and alignment.

The plan was submitted before Thanksgiving, and he said the Kansas Department of Education had a few minor tweaks for the plan. It will be resubmitted by Dec. 23.

• The board approved the professional development plan.

• The board went into executive session for five minutes to discuss non-elected personnel. Following the session, the board approved Shawndell Kirmer and Honey Anderson as day care directors for their rooms at the USD 112 Holyrood Day Care; Patty Hipp as a para at Central Plains Elementary School; Kira White as a substitute for the day care at Wilson.

• The board went into executive session for 10 minutes to discuss confidential student information. No action was taken upon exiting the session.

• Murphy discussed the HVAC system at WES. He said a technician is coming to Wilson to look at the unit.

“A communication gap is what it is,” he said. “I’m told we can’t run certain rooms off. He said, ‘I can shut any room you want off.’ He said, ‘I just have to override certain rooms. I can do it from here.’” Murphy said both he and Mohr will learn how to operate the system. Previously, staff was under the impression the system had to run in all rooms at Wilson Schools.

“If we’re able to shut half those rooms off, we’re talking about the electric bill being cut from $8,000$9,000 to $4,000 is huge,” he said.

• Murphy reminded everyone the board will elect officers at the January meeting.

The next USD 112 board meeting will be at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16, at CPJSHS library.