By Lucky Kidd
BUHLER, Kan. — State water regulations are coming into play for Buhler USD 313’s new Daycare facility at 56th and Plum, and they will not be cheap.
Superintendent Cindy Couchman told the Board of Education Monday night because of the number of students to be served at the facility will exceed 25, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment considers it to be a Public Water Supply System and add a lot of regulations for USD 313 including having to put down a new well that would meet spacing requirements the current well does not.
Couchman and Board member Dr. Tim Lackey shared information they have since obtained and options they could look at. While there is a rural water district line a half mile away it’s unlikely that district will allow them to connect. Other options are to drill the new well, which could cost over $100,000, and look at connecting to Hutchinson water which comes to the former Prosperity Grade School.
Additional information will be presented to a special meeting of the board next Monday, during which they will also discuss insurance coverage for the next year expected to carry a substantial cost increase.
The Buhler USD 313 Board of Education Monday approved addition of new positions including addition of a behavioral specialist at Union Valley Elementary School. Couchman said this position will help to address behavioral issues at Union Valley, one of the two Title 1 schools in the district, which have significantly increased.
Couchman said the decision to place the position at Union Valley was also based on needs for some students in their special education classrooms in the coming school year. This is a grant funded position that will be evaluated on an annual basis.
Other positions approved were a change in a kitchen position at Buhler Grade School and a part-time preschool teacher at Union Valley, which is adding another pre-K section in the fall.
The board approved revisions to the non-resident student policy it adopted last year. This policy, mandated by the Kansas Legislature, is being revised to incorporate changes approved during this year’s legislative session to clarify a number of issues raised regarding certain implementation factors and to add provisions related to homeless children who will not be subject to the policy or to virtual schools such as in the district’s Ad Astra Academies.
Members of Buhler High School’s Fishing Team were recognized during the meeting. Two teams from Buhler qualified for the Kansas High School Bass Nation State Championship held at Cedar Bluff Reservoir, and one of those teams, Evan Goering and Brayden Henry, finished 3rd and earned a spot in the National Championship in Tennessee. The other Buhler team, Drew Stivers and Logan Snyder, placed 5th.
