ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Redskin Field has been a fixture in the Liberal community for multiple decades, and Monday evening, some friction arose among the USD 480 school board regarding a potential new fieldhouse project there.
“I guess I’m really confused about this, because I don’t remember voting on even having this done,” Board Vice President Sarah Thompson said.
“I’d brought this to the board as part of the Facilities report back in December after I was given direction to bring this project to Facilities and then bring it back to the board,” Director of Operations Chad Mease said. “This is for concept drawings, this is not for any actual construction or building or any of that, this is to get some ideas and perspectives on what could be done.”
“So is there any projected cost or anything with this, what are we looking at?” Board President Brad Carr asked.
“Depending on what all we ask for, and what all is included in the specs and all of that, I would say the low end would be about $4 million,” Mease said. “What we would want to include would be the concession stand, locker rooms, bathrooms, and maybe a shelter for the officials. There are definitely a lot of options for what could also be included down the road as part of a long-term plan, like the press box. At this point, there’s just a lot of brainstorming going on, nothing’s been set in stone or approved.”
“I remember another time these people came in and had an absolutely crazy concept that was never going to happen,” Thompson said. “So now, they’re getting a second chance for this, and I still think there’s a possibility it’ll be over the top again.”
“I get that, but we haven’t even seen anything they’ve come up with for this time around,” board member Nick Hatcher said. “There was enough interest to move forward with something like this, and we need a professional to come up with a concept so we don’t make any mistakes. We at least need some kind of starting point. We’re just exploring options here and brainstorming, like Chad said. And we haven’t even explored all the different fundraising options yet, so I would say let’s do that and at least get some ideas.”
Thompson also expressed concern about other areas that need attention.
“I’m not opposed to a project like this, but I don’t feel like we need something $4 million or more, especially since I feel our academics need much, much more attention,” Thompson said.
“I totally agree with that, but there are areas out there that don’t meet any requirements and we’re behind in terms of Title IX and all of that,” board member Alan Brown said. “There are some needs out there that are definitely needed. I’m 100 percent for academics, but I’m also 100 percent for our athletics and other activities, and we’re not meeting all of those needs. All of the public areas like the concession stand and the restrooms, those have needed work for a long time. Even with just the restrooms, you’re looking at thousands and thousands of dollars, so I’m in favor of getting some ideas. I’m not saying I’d be in favor of a $4 million project, but I’d like to find out some potential things. We’ve got to start somewhere.”
After some more discussion, the board ultimately voted 4-1 to approve the invoice from Architect One in the amount of $11,433.75 for the project, with Carr voting no, board member Jesus Baeza abstaining and board member Kaylee Lopez absent.
Earlier in the meeting, Thompson had also raised questions about the early graduation process during the discussion of the Consent Agenda.
“With one of the applicants for early graduation, on her form, she indicated she finished at FOCUS in January and is ready to graduate, so my question is, what has she been doing since then? Also, why are we just now getting this application?” Thompson said. “Is she just not going to school anywhere? Does anyone know? Because it’s a little disconcerting to me. Also, there are forms for another couple applicants that, although they’re more completely filled out than before, I still don’t know if I’m comfortable with everything. I know one of the requirements is to have an acceptance letter from a college or something indicating a job offer, but there’s one of the letters that indicated one of the applicants applied to Wendy’s and McDonald’s and a daycare. With that applicant, I’m a little concerned about graduating them early just to work at McDonald’s and whether or not we’ve done all we can as a district to prepare them. With the FOCUS student especially, however, if she truly finished everything up in January, this application should have been in front of us for approval prior to now.”
“I can’t speak to that particular student, since I’m not sure who’s being discussed, but I know some Special Education students have completed their credits, but not their community service hours,” Special Education Director Dane Parcel said.
“But my question remains, what has she been doing since then?” Thompson asked. “Is she just not coming to school? And if that’s the case, is she just continuously being marked absent? If so, how’s that affecting everything?”
“Those are definitely good questions that need looked into,” Parcel said.
In other new business, the board approved payment of payment application No. 6 to Osborne Construction in the amount of $59,527.55 for the Liberal High School Auditorium rainscreen project and a three-year agreement for Goalbook Toolkit in the amount of $22,758.75 for each year for the Special Education Department. The board also approved the purchase of Career and Technical Education (CTE) equipment and software for $10,794.58 and IMA as the health insurance consultant per the continuing contract. To conclude the meeting’s new business, the board approved the new position of a middle school activities coordinator for each middle school.
