Hays Unified School District No. 489 will adjust to the new financial environment by continuing to use a combination of the newest in technology and time-tested principles of quality education. The school district will be sharply challenged to maintain its Standards of Excellence in the future because of financial restrictions. The debilitating budget cuts by the Kansas legislature, for the current year and the next year, will create difficult challenges for USD 489. The things that have made the district great, excellent teachers, small class sizes and time, all cost money; we will need to find new ways to finance them.

In the midst of all this, the school district continues to hold to its core values: good schools are good teachers, who have time to teach, and work with small class sizes. Evidence that this combination of technology and proven values is a productive one can be seen in our test scores.

USD 489 believes in insuring that every student gets off to a good start. The school district currently serves 500 children of pre-school age; 195 of them in Head Start programs, and the remainder in Early Head Start and Parents as Teachers (PATHS). These early childhood programs reach out to 4 counties.

Technology, throughout the district, is used to supplement and strengthen the instructional program. The most noticeable aspect of our technology is in our ratio of students to computers. At Hays High, it is 1:1; in the middle schools it is 1:1; and in the elementary schools it is 3:1. Technology in USD 489 takes many other forms as well. Whether it is in a drafting lab, an art room, the journalism classes, or streaming a Hays High produced program around the world, our students and staff are benefiting from a wealth of equipment and numerous training opportunities.

The school district prides itself on its ability to meet the needs of all school children. In order to meet those needs the school district sponsors a wide variety of special programs ranging from alternative paths to a high school diploma to programs for the most severely handicapped.

While doing an excellent job on the test score race, the staff continues to seek to develop the creativity, curiosity, and problem solving skills of students as well. The challenges of the future are best dealt with by applying creativity and foresight to a solid foundation. We are ready at USD 489.