Kindergarten decline, maintenance needs pondered
Staff writer
This year’s kindergarten class at Hillsboro Elementary School has 39 students, and a recent kindergarten roundup brought in only 32.
“That would be two years of sub-40,” superintendent Clint Corby told school board members last week. “Hopefully, those numbers come back up.”
Smaller kindergarten enrollment is not a concern yet, but if it’s a trend, it could lead to state aid, Corby wrote in an email to the Record.
“Our enrollment has been growing for the past few years so that is not a concern at this time,” Corby wrote.
Board members asked Corby whether he thought the school could pick up kindergarteners from Walton Rural Life Center, a Harvey County kindergarten to fourth grade school closing because of declining enrollment.
Corby said he wasn’t sure.
In other business last week, board members reviewed a draft of a survey that would ask residents and parents for their input about maintenance projects that could be included in a bond issue or paid for with capital outlay money.
The survey includes a multiple-choice question about current conditions of each school. Four answers are provided from no maintenance or upgrade needed to substantial improvements needed.
The survey states that a “no- tax-increase bond” would be possible by refinancing a school bond.
The district thinks about $14 million could be raised with no tax increase. The scope of projects would be kept under whatever amount could be financed without a tax increase, the draft survey states.
It then asks if respondents would be highly supportive, supportive, undecided, opposed, or strongly opposed to a bond election.
“This is a start of a conversation,” Corby told board members.