Labette Community College Trustees last week asked administrators to continue searching options for restrooms at the women’s softball field.
Trustees met Sept. 12 at the Cardinal Event Center, 13th and Main. College administration and trustees have been considering various options to improve restroom options at the women’s softball field, which is east of the Arvon Phillips Community Center in Parsons. Porta potties are in place now and one consideration has been installing permanent restroom facilities. The concern has been locating and connecting to a city sewer line, which runs through part of the outfield of the softball facility and building such a structure in the floodplain.
Vice President of Student Affairs Kelly Kirkpatrick shared some options for restroom trailers with trustees. She researched the possibility of adding self-contained trailer toilets on site. The trailers offer flush toilets and running water. Some may be able to connect to sanitary sewer lines for discharge. However, she found none within 150 miles of the college after reaching out to nine companies. One company in the Little Rock, Arkansas, area offered monthly rental of $5,000 for a two-seat trailer toilet facility. Pump service and inspections would be an additional expense. Another company in the Kansas City area offered a larger trailer with two toilets and a urinal, in addition to wash stations, but it cost about $8,000 a month plus the maintenance costs.
For the softball season, which runs February through May, the cost could be up to $30,000 or more.
Buying a toilet trailer would cost $50,000 plus delivery from North Carolina, she said. A company in Pittsburg may be able to maintain the facility, she said.
See LCC, Page 7.
Trustees were concerned about the cost for the trailers and thought that money would be better spent going toward a permanent restroom at the field.
Trustee Greg Chalker said he’s seen some upgraded porta potties that are larger and nicer than the standard toilet. Trustees agreed that would be a good option and college administrators will check on options.
The city of Parsons owns the softball and baseball fields used by LCC softball and baseball teams and has offered to donate the fields to the college, an offer trustees have discussed and are considering. The college has spent thousands of dollars over the last four decades on maintaining and improving the fields. While both fields are in the flood plain, only the baseball field has issues with water after a rain, trustees heard. If it rains one day the softball field should be ready to play by the next. Rains can delay play on the baseball field by a week or more.
If a permanent restroom facility is built for the softball field, it may have to be built up to flood plain standards.
Math program After discussion, trustees agreed to discontinue the math program at the college, a move suggested by the math faculty.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Jason Sharp discussed the issue with trustees.
LCC offers four degrees: associate of science, associate of arts, associate of general studies and associate of applied science. Within these degrees, students can follow programs of study. One of these is a math program that offers college algebra as well as advanced math courses, including calculus one, two and three and differential equations. Future math majors can take these courses to build course credits before transferring to a four-year institution that offers a math degree. Other students may need some of the math courses offered for other areas of study.
Sharp said enrollment is down in the math classes. State initiatives will also change what math courses LCC should continue to offer in the future. Besides general math and algebra, the focus will include elementary statistics and quantitative reasoning. The instructors want the option of offering other courses for students who want or need them.
Sharp said the same math faculty would remain to fill future course needs.
Sharp said criminal justice, social work, sociology and psychology majors will require elementary statistics. This is a move away from requiring college algebra for these majors.
PTA program delayed Trustees also heard from Sharp that getting the physical therapy assistant program accredited and restarted has been delayed. The program lost accreditation in 2022.
The agency that reviews the programs for accreditation only takes eight programs a year, four in the fall and four in the spring. The first time that LCC could schedule such a review would be November of 2025. Assuming accreditation is approved, the earliest the program could start would be June 2026, Sharp told trustees.
LCC is still going to hire a director for the program to assist with accreditation.
The PTA program would be offered at the Cherokee Center south of Pittsburg. Until that program comes online, LCC will continue to offer specialized training, CNA certification and testing at the center.
