HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson USD 308 is one of 19 Parents as Teachers programs in Kansas to be designated as Blue Ribbon Affiliates by the Parents as Teachers National Center. The announcement came Wednesday from the Kansas State Department of Education.

This endorsement is the highest designation a Parents as Teachers program can earn and means the program implements the evidence-based Parents as Teachers model with fidelity and quality, according to the Parents as Teachers website.

The Parents as Teachers affiliate model includes home visits, group connections, child screenings and connections to community resources. It helps equip parents with the knowledge and resources to prepare their children for a strong start in life and greater success in school.

Parents as Teachers affiliates are required to engage in a quality endorsement and improvement process in their fourth year of implementation and every five years thereafter, according to parentsasteachers.org. To earn the quality endorsement, affiliates must complete a comprehensive self-study and review process that demonstrates they are meeting or exceeding Parents as Teachers essential requirements, along with at least 75 of the 100 quality standards.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Area fire crews had to deal with brush fires Wednesday. According to 911, the first call came out around 2:45 p.m.

The fire was located in the 1,100 block of E 56th Avenue. A second call came around 4:35 p.m. for a fire at 56th and Yaggy Rd. No word on injuries or damage from either blaze. The range land fire index is expected to be in the HIGH category over the next several days. with strong winds and dry conditions.

We’ll have more as it becomes available.

NICKERSON, Kan. — With the USD 309 bond issue going down to defeat in Tuesday’s election the question is where does the district go from here?

Patrons soundly defeated the $29.9 million proposal in Tuesday’s election 1,613 no votes to just 413 yes. Interim Superintendent Dr. Jeannie Stroh says she wants to meet with the board to see where things go from here “I talked to a few board members this morning and really need to talk to the entire group and their feel for what they want to do.”

Many in the district were not against a bond issue, there were those who felt it was simply too much of a tax increase and too long of a bond issue. One of them was Pat Hinke who was with the group opposing the bond issue. He was happy with the results but like Stroh wants the bond to move forward again.

“There was one new board member elected last night so I think the new board needs to be seated,” Hinke said. “Once we get a full board again I would hope and encourage them to move forward with some sort of a bond again as soon as they can. Hinke feels that any bond issue will have to be significantly less than the one defeated Tuesday night.

“I think we’re going to have to be above 15 (million dollars)but as hard as we campaign under 20 we’ll have to stay under 20,” Hinke said. “We may not be able to cover all of our bases at that point, but I think between that and a well-planned capital outlay we can fix everything that needs to be fixed.”

For the district, it’s taking a step back and seeing what may have worked and what didn’t with the bond proposal.

“When something fails there’s more than a single reason,” Stroh said. “So taking a step back and reviewing whats the root cause and what kinds of things is our public really looking for. This is about our kids’ future, it’s not just a taxpayer issue.”

If approved, the funds would have made major renovations and expansion to South Hutch Elementary School, some minor improvements at Reno Valley Middle School and made improvements to the science lab and auditorium at Nickerson High School.

NICKERSON, Kan. — There were those in the Nickerson USD 309 School District who felt the proposed $29.9 million bond issue was too much for the small school system. Some of them were on the school board and some were even on the steering committee.

In the end, they were right. Patrons soundly defeated the proposal in Tuesday’s election 1,613 no votes to just 413 yes.

While many in the district were not against a bond issue, there were those who felt it was simply too much of a tax increase and too long of a bond issue.

Then-Superintendent Dawn Johnson and some of the steering committee tried to sway the board into bringing two separate bond questions to the voters, but in a nearly even split, the board approved the single question 4-3.

Where the bond issue goes from here remains to be seen, but it is back to square one for a district that had been working to bring this to a vote for more than a year.

If approved, the funds would have made major renovations and expansion to South Hutch Elementary School, some minor improvements at Reno Valley Middle School and made improvements to the science lab and auditorium at Nickerson High School.