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School Board briefs

By Staff | Dec 12, 2007

Board OKs trade: Land for parking lot

A skate park in Tonganoxie is one big step closer to becoming a reality.

The Tonganoxie School Board unanimously approved a request by the city to acquire land from the district for possible construction of a skate park.

The land is south of the fieldhouse near Beatty Field between the entrance road and Tonganoxie Creek.

In exchange for the ownership transfer, the city offered to make improvements to the gravel parking area south of the fieldhouse near Main Street for overflow parking at school events. The district estimates that it will cost the city about $13,000 to for asphalt and maintenance of the parking area.

Students recognized

Superintendent Richard Erickson recognized two Tonganoxie Elementary students as distinguished award winners for their accomplishments in reading.

Erickson first recognized first-grader Blake Phillips, who has read 142 books so far this school year. Erickson said that most students in the first grade have read about 40 books so far. Blake’s teacher is Jill Conrad.

Fourth-grader Derek Rose received the second distinguished award. Rose is reading at a sixth-grade level and already has read a few 300-page novels. His teacher is Kathy Powell.

“Congratulations and keep up the good work,” Erickson said.

Objection raised about ice melt

A parent of an elementary school students asked the school board to cease the use of ice melt at TES.

Melissa Waters said her son had eaten some snow at the elementary school Thursday afternoon that was treated with ice melt. Her son, who is in kindergarten, ate the snow about 12:30 p.m. and became sick. Poison Control officials told Waters ingestion of ice melt can cause several maladies, including burning of the stomach and the esophagus.

Although her son did not have any of those issues, he was “sick all night.”

“I don’t feel that if ice melt is such a concern and so hard on children, why are we being subject to this?” Waters asked.

She requested that the district no longer use ice melt at the elementary school and the board obliged. Erickson reported that rock salt would be used in the future at TES.

Board member Kathy Baragary asked why rock salt wouldn’t be used across the board because older students might throw snow.

“They just don’t think about it,” she said.

Erickson disagreed.

“I don’t think my high school son or daughter is going to have a problem with it,” he said.