HPS Foundation seeks to buy Lutheran school

Building to be used for daycare

Hampton Public Schools made a presentation on the Hawk Herd program Friday to the Nebraska Department of Education Board during its meeting, a day after the board visited the school. Pictured from left are Evan Pankoke, Brayden Dose, ag teacher Joel Miller, Principal Carson Klute and Supt. Holly Herzberg.

A proposal to transform the former Hampton Lutheran School building into a much-needed daycare facility is moving forward. Hampton Supt. Holly Herzberg announced at Monday’s regular meeting of the Board of Education that the Public School Foundation had held a meeting earlier and decided to pursue purchase of the property located just two blocks from Hampton Public Schools.
“The foundation has decided to direct me to enter into a purchase agreement,” Herzberg told the school board.
She said she hoped the board would be able to take formal action on the purchase at its October meeting, but didn’t know if all of the details would be able to be worked out in time.
In action items considered at Monday’s meeting, the board adopted the district’s budget for the 2023/24 fiscal year. With no discussion the board approved a general fund budget of $3,869,231 and an overall budget of $6,355,448 for FY 2023/24.
The board also approved the district’s tax request for the new fiscal year of $3,122,254, which represents a decrease in the tax asking of $18,728, or -0.6 percent. The 2023/24 total proposed levy equals 82.245 cents per $100 valuation, which was also a decrease from the prior year.
Earlier in the meeting during the treasurer’s report, Herzberg said she was presenting reports for both last year and the current year, noting that the district was ending the year with more than $108,000 in reserve in the general fund compared with $23,000 the previous year.
Several minutes of the administrators reports section of the meeting was taken up by replaying a YouTube video of the Hampton Herd presentation at the state school board meeting held in Aurora last week. Herzberg called attention to words of praise for the program from state school board member Kirk Penner of Aurora as well as other board members. On Thursday members of the state school board and Commissioner of Education Brian Maher were fed a breakfast which included Hawk Herd beef and were given a tour of the schools as well as the Hawk Herd facilities.