|
The Central School kitchen equipment
arrived this past week, and the gym floor should arrive this next
week. The entrance and administrative areas are being finished off
with work on the floors and electrical issues. The cafeteria area is
two-thirds tiled and looks good.
A problem was observed with the hard
rain in the recent past. Some water was found on the area where the
new gym floor is to be set. This was a result of the old school
still being there without enough drainage space between the two
buildings. Superintendent Robert Kidd observed that it was
fortuitous that the problem occurred before the laying of the gym
floor. Work will be looked into to allow for quicker drainage of
water between the buildings.
Another problem concerns the media
center (library). The contractor did not come through with the
shipment of the casework for the center, so it will not be delivered
until Aug. 18. They have agreed to help set up the casework for no
extra charge. It had been originally been planned for volunteers to
do the work.
There have been equipment delivery
problems for the demolition of the junior high. Repair on needed
equipment was not completed on time. One piece of equipment should
arrive on Thursday and another on Saturday. By next Monday three
operators should be working on the demolition. By the following
Friday the basic demolition should be finished. There will still be
two to three weeks of sorting and dumping of material after that.
The demolition should still be concluded by Aug. 21 or 22.
The board president, Bruce Carmitchel,
expressed concerns about the demolition area being an "attractive
nuisance" for children. There has been an opening in the fence
behind the demolition area. He stated that this should be closed off
and possibly more warning signs put up to show a good-faith effort
by the district to keep children out of harm's way.
Drawings of the plans for the new
junior high were made available for perusal by the board. These will
be fine-tuned and put out for bid next week. It should be possible
to begin construction after the demolition is complete. Various
plans for a temporary staging area for construction materials for
the new junior high need to be presented before the city council for
approval, as this may require temporary blocking of area traffic.
[to top of second column
in this article]
 |
Superintendent Kidd noted that the
recent rains had also done damage in the administration building.
Carpets had to be cleaned and de-molded more than once. Other
equipment also was damaged. An insurance claim is being prepared.
A recent request by parents of a junior
high girl to try out for the boys' baseball team was brought up by
Superintendent Kidd. Principal Curt Nettles reported he had received
a letter from the parents.
IESA rules state a girl may play on a
boys' team as long as proper forms are submitted. The local board
does not have to approve this (although they can still approve it)
as long as the school offers girls a "comparable" sport to
participate in.
Being under the impression that girls'
softball was a comparable sport, Nettles had responded in a letter
to the parents that he did not see a need to have her be allowed to
try out for the baseball team.
Carmitchel stated that he checked with
the IESA attorney, whose opinion was that they are not comparable
sports. Other board members seemed to think it ought to be all right
for her to try out in any event. The board president also did not
want the local district to be footing any possible bill on
litigation about what the word "comparable" might mean.
It was agreed, without a vote, to go
ahead and inform the parents that it was all right to let the girl
try out for the team. The paperwork for this would then be submitted
to the IESA.
In other
business:
A tentative budget was submitted by
Superintendent Kidd. It was approved without dissent by a voice
vote. A public hearing on the budget will be in September, after it
is advertised to the public.
After taking
bids for transporting of students in the coming year, it was found
that the low bidder had not included extracurricular or field trip
transport in its bid. The next higher complete bid could be
accepted, or all bids could be rejected and the issue put out for
rebid. The superintendent recommended the latter. The vote to
approve rejecting the bids and rebidding the project was passed
unanimously. The bids should be back by July 25 and one of them
accepted by the board at a special meeting on July 31.
[Keith Wilkerson] |
