After years of deferring maintenance on some highcost projects to manage a slew of others, Parsons USD 503 can no longer delay repairing/replacing roofs.
Garfield School has the oldest roof in the district. It is in bad shape, and it leaks. It has been on the list of items to get done for several years but has not been squeezed into the budget amid other emergency matters, such as boiler replacements. Now it is a must. The guttering on the roof has also been non-functional for some time.
Superintendent Lori Perkins said she is proposing the district redo a roof each year for the next couple of years, with Lincoln following Garfield in the 20262027 school year.
The older a building’s roof gets, the higher the insurance premiums.
“If we don’t budget for replacement of the elementary roofs in the next three years, our insurance rates will go up, or we may have a school building uninsurable. We don’t want to get back into the cycle of delayed maintenance,” Perkins told the board.
Maintenance Director Keaton Nolting presented bids to the board Monday, ranging up to $1,022,000, and his recommendation was for SIC Midwest to be given the job of reroofing Garfield for $348,800. He said SIC will fix all the issues the modified roof currently has before going over it with the two-part, 80 mil, seamless polyurea coating. It has a 25-year warranty. Nolting said once it reaches its lifespan, unlike a TPO system, they can go over the existing polyurea layer with another layer for around $200,000, and it will be guaranteed for another 25 years. Polyurea roofing is known for greater durability than TPO and it does not have the ponding issues that TPO has.
Nolting also recommended they go with Clear Cut Gutter’s bid of $33,640 for Garfield.
He said SIC can begin the work in two to three weeks. The work can be done while students are in school.
The board accepted the bids from SIC and Clear Cut.
See 503, Page 5.
Vikingfest
Parsons Middle School Principal Olivia Nolting, Assistant USD 503 Superintendent Jeff Pegues and Community Health Worker Jaran Dixon spoke to the board about the success of Vikingfest, a project that began as an effort by the Chronic Absenteeism Task Force to increase family engagement. Increasing family engagement is also a focal point of the district’s strategic plan.
Pegues said early intervention and engagement are key to helping students have a successful year. Parsons USD 503 and Telehealth Rocks created Vikingfest, and with help and support from businesses and organizations in the community, the first year was a success. Businesses donated prizes to give away to students who visited at least 10 of the 35 booths that shared valuable school and community resources that are available for them and their families. Families also enjoyed a free dinner.
Nolting said over 500 people attended and students turned in 280 cards after visiting the booths.
“I was ecstatic,” Nolting said. Everyone was shocked to see how many middle school and high school age students showed up, so next year, they said they are going to plan a lot more events geared toward those age groups, in addition to offering haircuts, different resources, presentations and more.
IN OTHER BUSINESS, the board: — Heard enrollment numbers are fluctuating daily as families are moving, but at last count stood at 1,170.
— Heard open house will be Aug. 18 at the middle school and high school from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
— Heard Aug. 19 will be Sneak Peek at all elementaries from 5 to 7 p.m.
— Heard Aug. 20 will be the first day of school all day, for all grades.
— Scheduled a special meeting to exceed the revenue neutral rate and hold a budget hearing.
— Appointed Kayla Green as the delegate for the KASB convention.
— Approved the 2025-2026 Classified Staff Handbook.
— Approved the 2025-2026 Staff Handbook.
— Approved participation in Greenbush Parents As Teachers.
— Approved two added vacation days for administrators and directors for the 2025-2026 contract year.
— Approved action on the memorandum of understanding with the city of Parsons to provide two school resource officers with annual billing.
— Accepted the resignations of Garfield ESOL aide Gisselle Hernandez and high school financial clerk Shealyn Wilds.
— Terminated from employment Curtis Arnold, part-time custodian.
— Accepted the transfers of Joe Campmier from middle school FACS to middle school communications/tech and Jamie Willey from middle school communications/yearbook to high school English language arts.
— Hired Kierstyn Houk as high school volleyball coach, Barbara Mc-Coy as middle school FACS and Sherman Shaver as middle school custodian.
— Accepted resignations of Mike Ramsey, high school assistant baseball coach, and Josh Robertson, high school head baseball coach, both effective Aug. 6.
— Agreed to hire Janai Bailey, high school sports club co-sponsor, Riley Beard, Garfield behavior support aide, James Cowger, part-time custodian at Guthridge, Kylie Lucas, high school sports club co-sponsor, and Shenita Oaks, sub bus monitor.
