The Career and Technical Education Academy building will soon have solar panels installed atop and a 90-foot wind turbine will be constructed north of the building, the director of career and technical education at Hutchinson High School told the Hutchinson School Board Monday.
David Patterson told the board of work between USD 308 and Hutchinson Community College to bring renewable energy education programs to the community. The classes will be available to Hutchinson High School students, area high school students through cooperative agreements and HCC.
High school students can receive college credit through the program and work toward a renewable energy technology certificate.
Later in the meeting, the board approved an inter-local agreement with HCC on the wind turbine.
The Hutchinson Community College Board of Trustees approved the agreement last week.
In other action, the board continued its discussion on the Hutchinson Recreation Commission taxing authority. They tabled any formal vote on the matter, deciding to wait until the Hutchinson Recreation Commission makes its recommendation on future structure. The board first surfaced the issue in the spring and a community study committee was formed.
The taxing authority issue is seen by the board as one of equity for district taxpayers. While the HRC’s property tax authority currently is locked into the school district’s 14-square-mile borders – the city limits of Hutchinson in the mid 1960s – the Recreation Commission serves the entire community. The city limits have grown to 22 square miles.
They also approved the audit report for Fiscal Year 2011, which ended June 30th. The audit found no major issues. Each year, an independent audit of district finances is done with the FY 2011 audit done by Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk & Lloyd, LLC. Results of the audit will be posted this week on the Business Office page of the district’s website – www.usd308.com.
They also heard a report on district special education programs from Linda Grote, district special education director.
They also approved an additional assessment for Schools for Fair Funding, approved Career and Technical Education Academy advisory boards and approved the accounts payable report for November 2011 and treasurer’s report for October 2011.
The next regular meeting of the board will be at 7 p-m, on Jan. 9, 2012