A three-quarter-scale Humvee that community and area business and industry helped Parsons High School students build over the course of more than a decade was gifted by the USD 503 Board of Education Monday night for a community project.
The board voted unanimously to donate the Humvee to the Parsons Pathways to Freedom nonprofit that is raising funds to build a veterans’ memorial beside the Parsons Municipal Building.
PHS drafting students in Bruce Rea’s class started the concept drawings for the ¾ scale Humvee in 2004. The Humvee project was an additional component to the main drafting and design program funded by the state. The school received no funding for the additional program.
Students in drafting, welding, automotive, construction trades, technology and other departments at Parsons High School all worked to design and assemble the Humvee from the ground up. They were aided through the process with grants from the Parsons Area Community Foundation, Westar Energy and Walmart and contributions of parts, materials, and assistance with the manufacturing of parts from Taylor Products, Ducommun AeroStructures, Ruskin Manufacturing, MAMTC of Pittsburg, Neodesha Plastics, Grandview Products and Thompson Brothers in Coffeyville.
The cross-curriculum and cross-community project provided real-world, hands-on application of what students learn daily in classrooms.
Construction of the project panned more years than initially planned. The Parsons Sun reported that originally, the Humvee was being constructed at 71 percent scale because the drive shaft from a totaled 2000 Chevrolet tractor was what the Humvee was being designed around. Those plans changed in 2009, when it was decided they would move from a gas-powered engine to an electric one. In addition to redesigning aspects of the Humvee, students designed a carport equipped with solar panels to be able to park the Humvee and charge it.
Students were able to devote half their school year each year to the project. The other half they devoted to robotics, another program offered that was not state or federally funded.
In 2016 students rushed to complete the Humvee after being invited to exhibit it at the 2017 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition in Oklahoma City, where the likes of NASA’s duplicate of the Mars Rover and the Batmobile had been on display in previous years.
They nearly wrapped it up and did show the Humvee, though there were a few remaining details to still be completed by students the following year.
With the project having well-served so many classes of students for so many years, and nothing more to really add to it, students moved on to other projects.
One of those projects the last two years was, at the request of the Pathways To Freedom committee, designing the very veterans’ memorial the students wanted to donate the Humvee to help build.
Superintendent Lori Ray told the board the district researched and found no federal Perkins or Vo-tech funds were used to help build the Humvee, allowing the district to donate it.
Rea spoke to the families whose PACF funds contributed greatly to the construction of the Humvee, and both were on board with the donation of the Humvee to raise funds for the veterans’ memorial.
Ray said the Humvee will be strictly a donation, leaving the auctioning of the Humvee to the Pathways to Freedom group.
“I think that’s a great cause,” board member Lou Martino said before motioning for the board to approve the donation.
The motion was promptly seconded and passed.
IN OTHER BUSINESS, the board:
Approved March 29 as a make-up day for one of three snow days taken this school year.
Heard March 5 is elementary parent/teacher conferences and March 6 is middle school and high school student-led parent conferences.
Heard Spring Break is March 11-15.
Heard March 18 at 6 p.m. is the next regular board meeting. Heard the National Honor Society Induction ceremony is March 19.
Heard the PHS Career Fair is March 26.
Heard Parsons High School Prom is April 13
Approved the 2024-2025 calendar with one of the major changes being the first day of school will be a full day for all students.
Received an accountability report from technology director Ben McGuire. Lincoln iPads, Guthridge Chromebooks, black and white printers and the main server needing upgrades are the high-cost items for the upcoming budget year. Those costs are estimated at $313,250. Adding operating costs, monthly costs of licenses and other fees which are trending upwards, McGuire reported the total tech budget comes in around $650,000.
Discussed the need for camera replacements at PHS and the middle school at a cost of approximately $280,000 if installed and managed in-house and $1.1 million if an external host provides the cameras and manages them.
Heard a Legislative update. Ray encouraged people to visit kslegislature.org to see all the bills in the House and Senate. She warned they often change bill numbers, attaching one to another. One of the bills that could potentially be of concern is House Bill 2738, which addresses the way the state funds special education. Ray said the new formula would mean a loss of $203,000 to Parsons if it is implemented. The state has not funded Special Education at the rate required by the State Constitution for decades, falling drastically short and leaving local school districts to pick up the slack. This comes at a time when costs of Special Education are rising annually.
Approved a contractual agreement with Labette Community College to allow social work students to come and observe at Parsons Schools.
Accepted donations to schools valued at $3,669.88.
Heard across all stakeholder groups discussing what should be in the new 5-year Strategic Plan, the top three areas suggested for the district to address were early childhood development, family engagement, and chronic absenteeism. The district administration will bring formal suggestions to the board in March to discuss the direction they wish to pursue.
Approved engaging with the Kansas Association of School Boards to assist with teacher negotiations given last year’s negotiations went on for an extended time. Cost is $225 an hour. Fees are not incurred for drive time.
Approved contracts for all district managers and directors for the 2024-2025 school year in their current positions.
Approved hires and resignations.