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The seventh-grade board scholars were
Kelsey Dallas, Jaci Gandenberger, Daniel Garrett, Rebecca Kasa,
Amanda Bowlin and Brittany Reves. The eighth-grade board scholars
were Kaeley Fitzsimmons, Jonathon Leisinger, Brandon Rahn, Hannah
Snyder and Timothy Wiser. In addition, special recognition was given
to Jaci Gandenberger, Daniel Garrett, Jonathan Leisinger, Brandon
Rahn, Hannah Snyder and Timothy Wiser for attaining the status of
board scholars for all four grading periods this past school year.
Also, at this month's meeting an update
was given on the status of the ongoing construction projects. The
second floor of the new Central School has been turned over to the
district's control for stripping and waxing of floors. Except for a
few small matters, including a broken window, construction has been
completed on that floor. The first floor should be turned over to
the district by next week. The gym floor was delivered on June 17.
The air conditioning should be up and running on June 19. The
library carpet is due to be delivered by the end of the week. The
library shelving, however, is still being checked on as to its
delivery date. The furniture is due to be delivered in late July, so
there will be no need to move any furniture from the old school into
the new one on a temporary basis.
The dedication of the new Central
School is scheduled for sometime in October. The opening date will
be on the first scheduled date of attendance for this coming school
year.
Demolition plans for the old junior
high building were slightly slowed by the issue of dealing with some
asbestos tiling. As this has now been taken care of, June 25 is the
planned date to begin setup for the demolition. During the
discussion Superintendent Kidd asked that the beginning of the
actual demolition be held off until July 2 to avoid conflicts with
other projects involving the junior high.
The development and design drawings for
the new junior high are to be finished by July 15. The project
should go out for bid in the couple of days following that. There
will be a special meeting of the board before the project goes out
for bid so that the final plans may be approved. Allowing for about
three weeks during which bids will be taken, the bids should be back
sometime during the first week in August. There may be another
special board meeting at that time to approve the bids. Construction
on the foundation could possibly start in late August according to
this timetable.
Four bids were offered for rebuilding
the restrooms at Northwest School. E.J. Pruitt was the low bidder.
The board unanimously approved to accept that bid. This project
includes the addition of an on-demand water heater in the one
restroom that has previously not had hot water in the recent past.
The two restrooms will be worked on at separate times to leave one
functioning at all times. The project should be completed by the
beginning of the school year.
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A revised budget for the current fiscal
year was unanimously adopted. This includes an education fund that
was in the black by only $8. This does not include $161,000 the
state owes the district's education fund, as this money will
probably not be received until the next fiscal year. Only the
working cash fund and the site construction fund were in the red.
This was due to the current ongoing construction. It should even out
once the current construction is finished.
In a related budget matter, there was a
public hearing on adopting a plan to offer $3.3 million in general
obligation bonds to pay off the balance of the building project. No
comments were made or questions asked during this hearing. The vote
to approve the issue of the bonds will be made in November or
December when the money is needed. This is to avoid unneeded
interest payments if the bonds were issued prematurely.
The board also approved accepting the
lowest of four bids on insurance for the coming fiscal year.
Superintendent Kidd noted that there was a 61 percent increase in
rates even on the lowest bid. This was fueled mostly by an increase
in workman's compensation rates, some of which is due to new state
requirements.
The board president, Bruce Carmitchel,
expressed concern that the insurance bids were not received until
the day before the meeting when acceptance was to be voted on. He
stated that it was essential that the bids be received earlier next
year so the board members might have a chance to review them before
the vote. Board member Leonard Janet suggested that the first of
June next year might be a good deadline. No action was taken on this
discussion at the meeting.
After a closed session of over an hour,
the board reopened the public meeting and unanimously approved 4
percent raises for nonunion staff and 4 percent raises on the
principals' base wage. Other approved business included the
resignations of Steven Cosby as wrestling supervisor and Jan
Malerich as head basketball coach for girls. The following were
hired: Debra Freed as enhanced kindergarten teacher at Jefferson
School, Karren Boward as special education aide at Central School,
Emmary Roemer as learning disabled teacher at LJHS, Ann Podbelsek as
learning disabled teacher at Jefferson School and LJHS, Amanda
French as kindergarten teacher at Washington-Monroe School, Dyanne
Speck as special needs aide at Jefferson School and Caryn McLaughlin
as special education aide (one-on-one).
New handbook revisions were approved.
One revision was to restrict fund-raising by students to only those
fund-raising projects approved by the principals.
Superintendent Kidd reported that a
letter had been received from the superintendent in Springfield
commending the LJHS jazz band for its performance.
The next
scheduled meeting of the board is to be on July 16 beginning at 6:30
p.m. in the library at Northwest School.
[Keith
C. Wilkerson]
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