New Seats Coming To McNees Auditorium

The Kimball School Board met for a special meeting on March 29. With all members present, a vote on the purchase and replacement of seating in the Harry McNees Auditorium was the main item on the agenda.

According to Superintendent Trevor Anderson, there are now 763 seats in the auditorium. The board voted to replace the seats with 450 new larger seats with the cost not to exceed $107,199.50. The Kimball School Foundation has pledged $20,000 for the new seats. More information will be released, but the district will be selling seat licenses for the new seats.

It is unknown if the current seats are original, although repairs would have had to have been made over the 50-year life of the school. Anderson told the Observer that "Our plan is to declare the old seats surplus property, and they will be able to be picked up as they are removed. The removal will not occur until a firm date on the installation has been set."

It appears that the new seating will be installed in September, and Anderson explained, "Depending on the installation date; we may be looking for volunteers to assist with the seat removal. I will know more on removal and installation dates in a few months."

The board also approved the resignation of social studies teacher Jack Birky. Birky's letter stated, "I would like to thank the faculty and staff of Kimball for a great school year. I appreciate the encouragement and support I have received during my first year of teaching."

The district is advertising for a replacement to fill his position.

Finally, Ty Neill was hired to replace business teacher Jeff Hoatson at the Jr/Sr. High School.

The next regular school board meeting will be Monday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the meeting room at the Kimball County Transit Service, 233 South Chestnut St., Kimball.