By ADAM STEWART

News editor

Marion High School may have its own student-run coffee shop by spring break.

USD 408 Board of Education approved spending $4,850 for construction of the coffee shop in the high school library. The school’s construction class will do the construction. Students Morgan Wheeler and Amanda Stuchlik said the work should be done, and the shop running, by spring break.

The coffee shop will be a project for a business management class. In the fall semester, the class focused on entrepreneurship.

The students plan to pay back $950 of the startup cost that would be used to purchase starting inventory. Once that is paid back, there are no specific plans for the profits, but a scholarship was discussed.

“I think roughly $5,000 is a pretty good price for a startup like this,” Board President Chris Sprowls said.

Bullying survey results

Places where students aren’t as closely monitored as classrooms are the most common locations for bullying, a survey of Marion elementary and middle school students found.

School counselor Kris Burkholder reviewed the results of the survey, and said the playground is where elementary school students said bullying happened most often, and the hallways, outside, and the lunchroom are the top places at the middle school for bullying.

Based on the results of the survey, Burkholder said she is working to encourage teachers to intervene first when they see bullying, then notify an administrator, rather than notifying an administrator first. Sixty-seven percent of students surveyed said teachers often or always stop bullying.

Burkholder said there was a high rate of students saying they want to help when they see another student being bullied, but they don’t know how.

The district’s website, http://www.usd408.com, has information on bullying prevention and a bullying reporting form.

In other business:

• Arrow Roofing will make repairs to the tar and gravel portion of the Hill Building roof for $23,488. The repairs must use the same kinds of materials, because the building is on the Kansas Register of Historic Places. There are also some cracks developing in the limestone above windows that need to be sealed. Superintendent Lee Leiker said grant money may be available for work on the building because of its historic designation.
• The Technology Excellence in Education Network inservice will be Monday in Hillsboro. Several Tabor College education students will join the inservice, but no districts outside the TEEN network will have teachers at the inservice.
• Sprowls and board member Duane Kirkpatrick were appointed to be the board’s representatives in negotiations with teachers.
• Becky Summerville was re-hired as a part-time employee in the district office, after retiring as a full-time employee.
• The board met in closed session for 45 minutes to discuss personnel and negotiations. On return to open session, Jordan Metro was hired as business and account manager for $40,000 per year, and Christina Hoffner was hired as attendance clerk and secretary for $11.25 per hour.
• Board member Lyle Leppke said problems with the heating system at the Marion County Special Education Cooperative building seem too expensive to fix.

The next board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 11.