Tiger Athletics

The district is looking for student help again this summer. If you will be 16 and a junior, senior, or current graduate by May 20 and would like to be considered for a summer custodial position helping paint, clean, wax floors, etc., come by central office and get a support staff application or download it from the website. Qualifications will include passing grades, a good work ethic, no disciplinary action, and a cooperative attitude. Applications must be submitted by May 1. The work schedule will be Monday through Thursday, 10 hours a day. Prompt and regular work attendance is expected.

This is just a friendly reminder from the Rich Hill R-IV School District to go exercise your American privilege of being able to vote in public elections! Voters will decide which community members will serve on our local school board and whether to pass Prop KIDS. Thank you for supporting the Rich Hill R-IV School District with your participation.

Rich Hill needs parent feedback for its 2024 Culture and Climate Survey. Please click the link to complete the anonymous, 15 question survey by April 5: https://forms.gle/8e5Uzmm2U6nztvqHA

Prop KIDS FAQs 4 How much will Prop KIDS cost me after the bonds are paid off? ● The median home price in Bates County is $102,000. Assessed at 19% of market value, the $1.0086 per $100 of assessed value will cost this homeowner $195 per year. The $1.0086 levy generates $460,000 in revenue per year for the district which is about 10% of the total district budget.

What happens if Prop KIDS doesn’t pass? ● The district will pay off the existing, low-interest bonds around 3 years early. ● The district will lose over $460,000 in annual revenue. ● The district will have to consider asking voters for new debt to make needed improvements at a much higher interest rate.

What has been done to improve facilities w/ existing funds and grants? ●Old Gym renovations ●Upgrade security to digital cameras, 4 entrance video-phones ●2 hot water tanks ●Dome sound system ●Repair gym bleachers ●Add bus ●New greenhouse ●Upgrade 60 yr old class furniture. Repairs, cameras, sprinkler system@ FB field ●Weight room equipment ●Add daycare ●Replace copiers ●Sidewalk to Ag ●Water plasma cutter, drill press, auto garage doors to Ag building ●Add vent hoods to FACS ●Restriped parking ●Plot printer for Career Tech ●10 passenger Ford ●Renovated special ed & Title1 rooms ●Floor scrubber ●Replaced steam table in kitchen ●Student Success Center for academic help & in-school suspension

Why are we collecting more money than we need to make our bond payments? ● Assessed Values and the amount of assessed property has increased significantly resulting in more revenue being collected. A YES Vote lets us place this extra money in high interest savings for future facility improvements. A NO Vote lets us pay off very low interest bonds up to 3 years earlier.

What facility needs does the district currently have that Prop KIDS could help fund? ●Dome Roof replacement ●HVAC improvements ●Roof repair ●Remove damaged tile in the high school, repair the concrete underneath, place a vapor barrier on the surface to eliminate moisture collecting under the tile, and replace the top layer with tile or another industrial surface. ● Football field and track repairs including fence and bleachers ● Elementary Playground Equipment repairs and replacement ● Early Childhood classroom and daycare expansion ● New bus purchases ● A private bathroom and laundry facilities in the nurse's station for homeless and disadvantaged youth to utilize as necessary.

YES--The board can flex the "extra" debt service levy into capital projects at a higher interest rate to meet future facility needs while keeping the total levy the same at $4.4269 and generating more interest income. NO--The debt service levy will be used to pay off existing, low-interest bonds up to 3 years earlier than the current final payment in 2031. Then the levy drops to $3.4183 and the district will lose over $460,000 in annual revenue.

Why does the district need these funds to become part of operating revenue? ● Operating costs and minimum wage and salary continue to increase at a much faster pace than state and federal aid or local revenues. ● The interest rate the district is earning on reserves and cash flow is very high right now.

This link is to the latest district newsletter. It breaks down Prop KIDS and lists the candidates running for school board. https://sh1.sendinblue.com/vxxb4idtxpfe.html?t=1711559578

If your business would like to purchase a spot on the 2024-25 Rich Hill Athletic Calendar for $50, please download the form at https://5il.co/2hb13 and return it to Central Office with payment. Please make sure your business information is accurate and that you have provided the correct logo using the method selected on the form. All proceeds minus actual printing cost will go directly to student athletics.

JH Cheer Tryouts tonight from 4:15 to 5:00 in the dome for girls that have signed up and returned all paperwork to Mrs. Schenker.

Proposition KIDS Town Hall and Information Here's a sample of what just went out in the weekly District Newsletter. The link to sign up is at the end: The weather wasn't very cooperative last night, but we had a couple of community members who up to learn about Prop KIDS and then take a tour of the greenhouse which was paid for by a large grant and then district funds. A couple of years ago, the board refinanced our debt at a lower interest rate. This cut 3 years off of the life of the loan. Since then, both the assessment and amount of personal property in the district has increased bringing in more revenue than what our payments require. The board has two options: lower the tax rate or prepay the loans faster than scheduled. Proposition KIDS provides a 3rd alternative. If voters choose to approve Prop KIDS, the board can then flex the surplus revenue into operating funds to help with building and equipment repairs and maintenance before things reach a point where the board has to ask for more debt to be taken out. The money the board flexes into operating funds earns a much higher interest rate than what we are paying on our debt providing even more revenue for the district. If voters don't approve Prop KIDS, then the debt will be paid off around 2028 or so and then the $1.0086 levy will fall off. This will drop district revenues by about $460,000 per year...or about 10% of the district's annual budget. The district has leveraged millions of dollars in grant money and stretched our dollar as far as we can. Operating costs and minimum salaries continue to increase at a rapid rate while state funding has been flat for almost 10 years. From now until the election, I will continue to post more information about Prop KIDS so the public can make an informed decision before going to the polls on April 2. Sign up the newsletter here: https://d1fd8f10.sibforms.com/serve/MUIFAEYVwXgu0UWCK4kKVaBOQK588II_v75zh7gTxe8MMii55iaZrpxnpt6kkbn66yeNkwGOJi1qAyeB33JrBdui1xmmJcV-A2ZUVVNvG3oUbxP_zlChNfCsWhzF0kQ-U9616q7GZcUUJy8CVp4R2EdLSnTeyKWsC8PmD6VS73zbacp1moXQV8aEXifHgz0311Kfei6vzJ1hSh9h

Rich Hill will once again be making our own Sports Calendar for 2024-25. The company who has done this in the past has not contacted us and I informed them last year we would be doing it ourselves from now on. We have typically gotten one $300 check from them for all the ads sold to the community. I believe we can do better with all of the money going directly to our athletic program. We will begin working on an order form with prices and post it here and to Facebook shortly. Our goal would be to have calendars printed and ready to go by the beginning of August. Thank you!

Click the link to learn more about Prop KIDS in the district newsletter. https://sh1.sendinblue.com/vphwgidtxpfe.html?t=1709324161 Please subscribe to the district newsletter to make sure you never miss district news!

First District Newsletter. Sign up if you haven't already. Here's a link to the first edition: https://sh1.sendinblue.com/vla74idtxpfe.html?t=1708717893

It has taken a bit to figure out a format that works, but I've posted two yearbooks on the alumni page that are on Google Slides so they can be viewed easily and without software. I'll post a news story as well so I can give links and details. Court Warming is tonight starting at 5:30pm in the dome. As part of our Continuous Improvement Plan, the committee wanted the district to begin a newsletter. Sign up here: https://d1fd8f10.sibforms.com/serve/MUIFAEYVwXgu0UWCK4kKVaBOQK588II_v75zh7gTxe8MMii55iaZrpxnpt6kkbn66yeNkwGOJi1qAyeB33JrBdui1xmmJcV-A2ZUVVNvG3oUbxP_zlChNfCsWhzF0kQ-U9616q7GZcUUJy8CVp4R2EdLSnTeyKWsC8PmD6VS73zbacp1moXQV8aEXifHgz0311Kfei6vzJ1hSh9h

Join us for Basketball and Prom-posals!

We need some assistance from the Rich Hill community. The school is working on several records projects and we need information we don’t have. If you have any Rich Hill High School sports scorebooks from the past because you or a relative coached, we need those to create an accurate official school record book. Also, the library is missing many years of yearbooks since these used to be part of general circulation and they would not get returned. Now we store the yearbooks as a historical record and they are not checked out to students. I am working on a senior composite project and I will not be able to make all past senior composites available without a copy of each year’s Yearbook. If you have one you would like to donate to the school’s historical collection, please drop it by Central Office. If you have a yearbook and don’t want to part with it, if you could come by central office and let us scan in the senior portraits, that would also be very helpful. Here are the yearbooks we need: 1881-1910; 1912-1945; 1947, 1948; 1952-1954; 1956-1962; 1964, 1966, 1967; 1969-1971; 1973, 1974, 1976; 1978-1987; 2000. Thank you Rich Hill!