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The familiar image of the Fighting Frog — USD 382’s mascot of at least a half-century — will soon be a legally protected trademark, the Board of Education learned Monday night.
Activities Director Curtis Nightingale explained that the trademark application will protect the district’s right to use the iconic image. Anyone else who wants to use the Greenback logo will have to seek the district’s permission, and perhaps pay a fee.
The district is using the online service LegalZoom to apply for the trademark and to perform a search to make sure Pratt’s frog looks like no other.
The key to securing USD 382’s right to the image is establishing how long it has been in use. Nightingale said he’s sure the logo is older, but the earliest proof he has been able to find is the 1962 PHS yearbook cover.
In other business, the board:
•Accepted the 2011 audit of the school’s finances from local accounting firm Patton, Cramer & LaPrad. Steve LaPrad told the board the district’s books are in good shape. He discovered no statutory violations and no reconciliation errors. Although the district appeared to have violated the basic stricture against spending more than it takes in, a negative ending cash balance was really the fault of the state, he said. The state did not have enough money at the end of the year to fulfill its funding obligation to the district. The $342,092 shortfall was made up as soon as funding became available.
•Heard an enrollment report from Superintendent Glen Davis. The district has increased its student count by 29, which is good news from a funding standpoint, Davis said.
•Tabled a the bid award for a new roof at the Liberty Middle School gymnasium to seek the recommendation of the district’s insurance company. A local company, Becker & Son is in the running for the project.
•Recognized Kim Garrett at the meeting. Garrett has been named the Council for Exceptional Children’s Professional Education of the Year in Kansas. Garrett has 30 years of teaching experience in both local school districts. She credited LeAnn Brunson with collaborating on the projects that helped her earn the award.
The familiar image of the Fighting Frog — USD 382’s mascot of at least a half-century — will soon be a legally protected trademark, the Board of Education learned Monday night.
Activities Director Curtis Nightingale explained that the trademark application will protect the district’s right to use the iconic image. Anyone else who wants to use the Greenback logo will have to seek the district’s permission, and perhaps pay a fee.
The district is using the online service LegalZoom to apply for the trademark and to perform a search to make sure Pratt’s frog looks like no other.
The key to securing USD 382’s right to the image is establishing how long it has been in use. Nightingale said he’s sure the logo is older, but the earliest proof he has been able to find is the 1962 PHS yearbook cover.
In other business, the board:
•Accepted the 2011 audit of the school’s finances from local accounting firm Patton, Cramer & LaPrad. Steve LaPrad told the board the district’s books are in good shape. He discovered no statutory violations and no reconciliation errors. Although the district appeared to have violated the basic stricture against spending more than it takes in, a negative ending cash balance was really the fault of the state, he said. The state did not have enough money at the end of the year to fulfill its funding obligation to the district. The $342,092 shortfall was made up as soon as funding became available.
•Heard an enrollment report from Superintendent Glen Davis. The district has increased its student count by 29, which is good news from a funding standpoint, Davis said.
•Tabled a the bid award for a new roof at the Liberty Middle School gymnasium to seek the recommendation of the district’s insurance company. A local company, Becker & Son is in the running for the project.
•Recognized Kim Garrett at the meeting. Garrett has been named the Council for Exceptional Children’s Professional Education of the Year in Kansas. Garrett has 30 years of teaching experience in both local school districts. She credited LeAnn Brunson with collaborating on the projects that helped her earn the award.
