By BEN KLEINE

Staff writer

Pending the completion and approval of the grant work plan, USD 408 will be rewarded a $5,750 tier two level Kansas Coordinated School Health grant.

USD 408 School Nurse Kristin Garman went through the lengthy application process, submitting an application and other documents proving Marion’s qualifications to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

To be deemed worthy of tier two money, Marion had to submit evidence of their efforts to educate students about nutrition, keep students physically active, and persuade students to stay away from tobacco.

“If kids don’t get a certain amount of minutes for recess, you don’t qualify for the grant,” Garman said as an example of the scrutiny involved with the grant.

Another example of a requirement is that each grade level has to be part of a nutritional-based event every year like Body Venture, which visited Marion Elementary School last week.

The goal of these requirements is to prove to the Kansas Department of Health that a school spends the funds wisely and fulfills the programs goals of promoting nutrition and physical fitness.

By Nov. 20, Garman will need to submit a work plan to the committee detailing how the district will spend the money. Monday, Garman and the school health committee met and started working on ideas of what to spend the money on. Garman is still unsure how the district will use the money.

“I can’t say that we’re going to get five elliptical machines for $5,000,” Garman said.

If the Health Department rejects the work plan, the district could lose the grant.

In the seven-year history of the grant, Marion applied and received the KCSH grant every year but last year.