Brady looking at new conference

Schools might be faced with end of Central Platte

By Deb Egenberger

November 15, 2007

The Brady Eagles will likely be searching for a new conference alignment before next year.

Schools in the Central Platte Conference are dwindling quickly leaving Brady, Maxwell and Stapleton looking for an alliance.

Last year, Eustis-Farnam officials announced this would be the last school year the Knights would participate in the CPC.

E-F has a dual conference schedule now, in both the CPC and the Fort Kearny Conference.

That leaves only five schools in the CPC next year—Arnold, Brady, Maxwell, Paxton and Stapleton.

Earlier this fall, three schools were extended invitations to join the CPC. Hayes Center, Maywood and Wallace all declined.

“Paxton officials have already said if only five schools remain in the conference, they’ll pull out and go west,” superintendent Joyce Huffman said during Monday night’s regular monthly school board meeting.

Paxton is considering joining the Republican Plains Activities conference and Arnold has said it will go to the Loup Valley Conference, Huffman said.

That leaves Brady, Maxwell and Stapleton looking.

“Brady and Stapleton have already been invited to join the Sandhills Conference,” Huffman said. “That may be our only option if the CPC dissolves.”

The Sandhills Conference includes Arthur County, Cody-Kilgore, Hyannis, McPherson County, Mullen, Sandhills and Thedford.

Huffman told board members they would likely be asked to make a decision after the first of the year.

In other district business, school board members:

• approved payments of $12,000 to Paulsen Inc. and $30,534 to Joseph R. Hewgley and Associates finalizing the payments for the $4.625 million construction project. Punch lists have been completed, Huffman said, and any additional items remaining to be addressed will fall under the one-year building warranty.

• approved a negotiated agreement between the Brady Education Association and Brady Public School district. The agreement increases the base teacher salary from $24,650 to $25,400, a 3% raise. Teachers higher on the salary step scale are likely to receive different increases.

• declared five computers and multiple printers and parts as surplus property, designating them to be taken to the Educational Service Unit office in North Platte for recycling. The board also declared the white 1990 Suburban as surplus and will advertise for sealed bids to sell the vehicle.

• approved the purchase of 12 desktop computers from ByteSpeed Inc. for $799 each to complete the replacement of machines in the computer/business lab. Rural Education Achievement Program grant funds will pay for the purchase. The older units will be used to upgrade some teacher stations as well as two mini labs.

• discussed the possibility of increasing substitute teacher pay to be more in line with area schools. Huffman told board members Brady substitutes currently earn $75 per day. She said she will present an area average next month for the board’s consideration.

• considered the possibility of advertising to expand the student population and offering bussing for option students. Huffman told the board with enrollment numbers steady from last year to this fall, looking at ways to increase student population may become necessary.

• learned from principal Gerald Wallace that 98% of elementary and 86% of high school parents attended the first quarter parent-teacher conferences.