( KMZA )--Items revolving around the district’s strategic plan highlighted the Nemaha Central USD 115 Board of Education meeting this week.  

Superintendent Darrel Kohlman told the board the administrative team members had met with representatives from the Kansas Association of School Boards and Greenbush to discuss facilities and the process to be used to decide the future of those facilities. 

 Kohlman said they were told that direction is needed before any studies or procedures can begin. The administrators, therefore, came up with three options that Kohlman shared with the board and those in attendance.   

 After some wording changes by the board, the 1st option is to have all  6th – 8th grades at Baileyville, 9th – 12th grades at Seneca, and pre-kindergarten-5th grades at Seneca.  The second option is to close the B&B facility with all students attending facilities in Seneca and the third option is to transition the closing over a period of time with the B&B junior high closing first followed by the high school.

Kohlman said that the board will need to have a work session after the studies are finalized and suggested sometime in January.  Kohlman was asked to find out and report to the board the cost of the KASB and Greenbush services to the board.

At the beginning of the meeting, School district patron Cheryl Deters addressed the board regarding two items on the Strategic Plan – use of district-owned facilities and mascots & colors. 

Deters, who said she was speaking on behalf of some patrons on the west side of the district, asked the board to consider having the middle school at the Baileyville facility on a permanent basis.  

In her opinion, she said students should be involved in the decision as well as choosing a new mascot and colors. Deters asked the board to give all schools at least one more year, which would allow time to embrace the end and also time for the students to blend.