TEG
TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016
V V V
PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
USD 251 TRIES AGAIN
FOR NEW SCHOOL BOND
Election on
May 3 for
$31 Million
By Jessie Wagoner
V V V
Welcome,
Mr. Case!
WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
KEVIN CASE NAMED
SUPERINTENDENT
FOR USD 253
[email protected]
JESSIE WAGONER/GAZETTE
Members of the North Lyon County Board of Education
approved a resolution to call another bond election.
Voters will have a chance to vote on the proposed $31
million bond on May 3.
isting buildings for over 80
years. Please take action in
a responsible and respectful manner in disposing of
school property. The expense will increase the cost
of the bond issue but do not
pass on a severe burden to
patrons of the district.”
All of the board members
expressed that they understood the concerns of the
community members in regards to the sale or demolition of the current buildings
if the bond passes. They
all agreed that they do not
want the buildings to become “eyesores.” However,
they also know that the patrons of the district wanted
the board to reduce the cost
of the bond.
“I’m strongly against including it right now,” Board
President Matt Horton said.
“We were asked to go bare
bones. We were told time
and time again and, maybe
not outright called liars, but
told that we went over, that
$39 million was ridiculous.
They asked us to cut back
and save and I think that is
what we did. Now, that being said, we all have said all
along that we try to be good
stewards of our communities. I don’t like seeing the
eyesores either.”
The board insists that
they will responsibly take
care of the buildings if they
are vacated. In an effort to
Please see USD 251, Page 5
The Emporia Board of
Education voted to adopt a
contract for Kevin Case during a special board meeting
on Monday night, making
him the new superintendent of the Emporia School
District.
Case attended Kansas
State University where he
received both bachelor’s
and master’s degrees. His
superintendent certification is from Fort Hays State
University.
Case was interviewed by
the board on Jan. 11. The
contract is for $138,000 annually, will begin July 1 and
run through June 30, 2018.
“The last couple of years
I’ve felt a tug or pull to look
at being more active in the
leadership area,” Case said
during interviews. “The
thing I like about a larger
district is there are a number of people in a larger district that are specialized. In
Inman, I’m the transportation director and I hire the
custodian and, last week,
I drove a bus. I’m going to
guess I wouldn’t be driving
a bus here. I will drive a bus
— I’m not afraid to do any
job in the district — but I’m
at a point where I would like
to focus.”
Case served for 17 years
as the superintendent for
USD 448 Inman.
“Kevin is very passionate,” said board member Art
Gutierrez. “When we looked
at the community input and
the input from our adminis-
trative team they were largely in favor of Kevin Case.
His resume is fantastic and
I think he was named as one
of the top 100 superintendents in the country.”
According to a press re-
CLASSIC ROCK FEATURED SATURDAY WITH ‘STARSHIP’
By Regina Murphy
[email protected]
The Granada Theatre presents
a slice of the 80s (and forward)
with a concert Saturday by Starship with Mickey Thomas. Thomas was co-vocalist with Grace Slick
during the 80s in the band Jefferson Starship.
Thomas’ first big break was
singing lead on Elvin Bishop’s
“Fooled Around and Fell In Love,”
which made it to number 3 in 1976,
was later covered by Rod Stewart
and featured prominently in 2015’s
“Guardians of the Galaxy.”
In 1979, Thomas was asked to
join Jefferson Starship where he
spent most of the early eighties as
the main vocalist, performing several duets with Slick. Songs such
as “Sara,” “Find Your Way Back,”
“Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”
and “We Built This City” were staples of the high school dance, college prom and summer street fairs.
Currently touring are Mickey
Thomas (vocals), Phil Bennett
(keyboards), Darrell Verdusco
(drums), Jeff Adams (bass), Stephanie Calvert (vocals) and John
Roth (lead guitar).
VOL. 124, NO. 177
VVV
By John Robinson
[email protected]
The North Lyon County
Board of Education passed a
resolution calling for a bond
election to fund a consolidated kindergarten through
12th grade building. Now
patrons will have a chance
to cast a vote on the proposed $31 million bond on
May 3.
Before voting on the motion, board members took
part in a lengthy discussion
regarding the bond. The
board heard public comment from Cynthia Wilson,
vice president of Reading
Community Development
Inc. Wilson presented a letter to the board on behalf
of Reading Community Development asking that the
board include the cost of
building demolition in the
bond if it should pass.
The $39 million bond
that failed to pass in October included $1 million for
building demolition. At that
time patrons complained
about the expense of demolition and expressed that
they didn’t want it included
in the bond. In an effort to
reduce the cost of the bond
the second time around that
amount was removed.
“We ask that you, as a
member of the USD 251
school board, reconsider
including the demolition
of the buildings as part
of the budget in the bond
proposal,” the letter reads.
“The district constituents
have paid for the construction and upkeep of the ex-
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
Good Evening
COURTESY PHOTO
A little history
Jefferson Airplane was an
American rock band formed in San
Francisco, California in 1965,
the era of counterculture and
psychedelic rock. This band
played the three major U.S rock
festivals of a generation: Monterey (1967), Woodstock (1969)
and Altamont (1969).
The group broke u