| Heating
system bid award
The school board awarded the bid for the Middle School heating system project to Guardian as their bid came in abut $3000 less than other bids and superintendent Gary Blaz said he and board member Bill Hill were both comfortable with the bid that it covered what they wanted done. Work should be completed by the end of the summer. Rene’ Forsmann reported two bids came in on the technology rewiring but that they were very different in what was offered. She said the low bid didn’t cover everything they wanted while the higher bid had some overkill in it. She said she and her committee would like to go through things item by item and ask the two firms to re-bid on the updated specifications. The board passed a motion to give Forsmann and her committee discretion on approving the best bid of up to $125,000 but that any higher than that would need board approval. The two bids received came in at $112,000 and $168,000. Forsmann said she felt $125,000 would be about right. Pat Alfrey was formally declared elected as the new trustee from zone #5 as she was the only candidate to file before the deadline. She was in attendance at the meeting so she could start getting brought up to speed with the board. She officially joins the board at the July meeting. A letter of resignation was received and approved for Sarah Remacle. She had taken a leave of absence during this school year and now has decided not to return. Her position will be advertised. Presnell-Gage was approved again as the school auditor. Their bid came in at $6700 for this year, an increase of $400 over last year. A transfer of $68,383 from the Plant Facility Fund to the Bus Fund was approved to pay for the new bus, which arrived sooner than expected. The June board meeting was moved from June 15 to June 22 due to the fact the superintendent would not be able to attend on June 15. This meeting also includes the budget hearing. Issuing contracts was on the agenda but board member Hill had some concerns that the board decided to discuss in an executive session before making a decision. In administrative reports, Forsmann reported the junior high music students received a 1 rating at the state music festival meaning they received superior status. The only other group to get a 1 rating was Moscow Junior High. She reported the 8th grade students visited the prison on May 15. She said this is always an eye-opening experience for the students. On May 20 the 7th grade is to make a field trip to the South Fork and on May 22 the 6th graders will go on a field trip to Winchester Lake State Park. On June 3, the last day of school, the 8th graders will visit the high school and go through their schedules for next year. Todd Shumway reported that Spring sports are now finished. Softball won State, Track had 2 state champions and all 10 state qualifiers won medals. Baseball was a finalist for the state academic championship for their sport. He reported that Saturday Schools have been scheduled for students who exceeded their allowed absences. The PHS Drama class put on “Too Many Doctors” for the community on May 12th. Shumway reported it was hilarious. Student body officers for next year are NaTosha Schaeffer, president; Amber Holthaus, vice-president; Gina Seubert, sec./treas.; and Haleigh Schmidt and Francesca Johnson are Spirit Leaders. Blaz reported that they are trying something different next year at the Elementary School due to declining enrollment and the subsequent drop in staff. 2nd through 4th grades will have their normal mornings but will departmentalize in the afternoons on a rotating basis with Mrs. Kim Schumacher teaching science, Mr. Wassmuth social studies, Mrs. Richardson art, Mrs. Ellis computer science, Mrs. Brannan health enhancement, Mrs. Karel music and Mr. Deiss library science. The science fair was very well attended. Kindergarten screening is going on this week. The 4th graders will visit the Middle School on May 27. The Elementary concert is set for May 28 at 1 p.m. On June 2nd they will have a roller skating party in Lewiston. As superintendent he is looking at projected projects for the high school, renovating the Middle School kitchen and redoing the Middle School windows. He is still attending biomass meetings as he pursues looking at a combined heating system for the high school and Monastery which would use biomass fuels. The board adjourned to an executive session at 7:50 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Monday, June 22, a week later than usual, at 7 p.m. This will also be the budget hearing. |
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