District News:

Classified Salary Increases:

We are pleased to be able to announce that all classified positions have been raised to a minimum of $15 per hour. We hope this increase will allow us to be more competitive in the job market and allow us to recruit and retain staff in each of our departments. This change will be reflected for 12-month hourly employees on the July 15th paycheck and 9-month hourly employees on the September 15th paycheck. Classified employees who have questions about their pay rate, should first contact their immediate supervisor. 

If you know of individuals who would be interested in any of our classified positions please have them view our vacancies and apply at https://www.applitrack.com/emporia/onlineapp/. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield Update:

Effective 8-1-2022 BCBSKS is implementing MedsYourWay Retail for BCBSKS members. This program is a behind-the-scenes program that looks for the best discount available to allow employees to save where possible. (Similar to Good RX but employees do not need to provide the pharmacy with a different card to look up pricing and you do NOT have to do anything special). MedsYourWay helps simplify the brick-and-mortar shopping experience by automatically comparing plan-covered benefit prices to discount card prices at the pharmacy, without needing to present a separate discount card. In addition, employees can access discounts on non-covered and prescribed over-the-counter medications.   

Members will most likely experience very small savings or no change at all. Included below are a couple of examples of how this might be a benefit:

• If a member normally pays a $20 copay on a $21 drug (member pays $20, plan pays $1) and BCBSKS find a discount that lowers the cost of the drug to $18, then the member would only pay $18 instead of their normal $20 copay and the plan would pay $0.
• If the member pays a $20 copay, they won’t notice if BCBSKS finds a discount that lowers the total claim allowed amount from $75 to $73. In that scenario, the plan sponsor would save $2 on the claim, and the member would pay the same $20 copay.

Below is an estimated timeline of go-live and communications that employees will receive:

• Aug 1 - Go Live!
• Aug 8 - Begin mailing member letters to targeted members (one letter per household) – letters will be staggered over several weeks, depending on the final quantity
• Aug 8 - Employer email sent to inform group leaders of this benefit
• Aug 11- Member email sent to members enrolled in the BlueCard Rx program

Summer Meals:

The district’s summer grab-and-go meal program will run thru July 29. Free breakfast and lunch will be available Monday - Friday for all kids aged 1-18. Meals can be picked up at Riverside from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM. If you have any questions regarding the summer meal program please contact Food Service at 620-341-2382.

Late Resignation Reminders from Human Resources for certified staff:

July 1

• certified staff members resigning on July 1st shall pay the district $2000
• any certified staff member resigning after July 1st shall pay an additional $50 per day until the written resignation is received in the central office

August 1

• certified staff members resigning on or after August 1st and thereafter shall pay the district $5000

Free and Reduced Lunches for 2022-2023:

The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program are funded by the United States Department of Agriculture. Our district receives reimbursement from USDA for each meal served to eligible students. During the Pandemic, the USDA issued waivers that allowed schools to provide free meals to all students, regardless of their household income levels. This waiver expires on June 30, 2022. As of right now, meals will not be free for all students next school year.

Families will be able to apply for Free or Reduced price meals by completing a Child Nutrition Application. Applications will be available online beginning July 18, 2022, at enrollment and anytime throughout the 2022-2023 school year. We encourage all families to fill out this free application. If you have any questions please contact our Food Service Department at 620-341-2382.

District Events:

USD253 Job Fair:

Please share if you know of anyone looking for employment. Emporia Public Schools will host a Job Fair at the Flint Hills Mall across from the movie theatre, on Wednesday, July 20th from 1:30 PM - 5:30 PM. Staff from different departments and schools will be available to talk about the open positions for the 2022-2023 school year. Computers will be available in the Flint Hills Learning Center to fill out an application while on-site. Job openings include the following areas: food service, transportation, paraprofessionals, aides, maintenance, custodial, special education, substitute teaching positions, and elementary and secondary teaching positions. 

We are excited to announce the increase in base pay of $15/hr for classified staff, with some positions starting higher.  If you know of someone who is interested, please have them complete this form. USD253 Job Fair Attendee

2022-2023 Enrollment:

Online enrollment for the 2022-2023 school year will begin on July 18 and run through August 1. Parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to enroll their students online. Enrollment information will be mailed to all returning and pre-registered students. For those families who may need assistance, a limited number of appointments will be available at the Flint Hills Learning Center, 1624 Industrial Rd, located at the Flinthills Mall.

Back to School Convocation and Breakfast:

Mark your calendars for August 8th. The Back to School Convocation and Breakfast will be held at White Auditorium. Breakfast will be available beginning at 8:00 AM. Additional details for the event will be sent during the next few weeks by email.