By Aaron Vehling

Various North Branch Area School District buildings will receive long-needed maintenance as a result of some money left over from the construction of the new Sunrise River School.

The school board voted at its Thursday night (June 10) meeting to authorize about $1.025 million in various upgrades and repairs. Because the money is from capital funding, it cannot legally be used for hiring teachers or any other operating expense.

At a board work session on June 2, district finance officer Randi Johnson outlined a variety of recommendations for use of the capital funds. Many of the items are repairs that were deferred over time because of a lack of sufficient funds to address them, including a new boiler for the Main Street School, a water softener for the Middle School, carpet replacement in district schools and the replacement of lockers in the middle school.

Johnson said the problematic lockers in the middle school were cheaply made to begin with and are only about two inches wide - hardly enough space to store anything.

ìThis is what happens when you cut corners,î said board member Mary Jo Ahlgren at the work session. ìYou pay later.î

Other items included in the $1.025 million are hallway ceiling tiles, the painting of classrooms, security system upgrades, phone system upgrades, wireless networking, document cameras, classroom supplies, computers and video cameras. Main Street School will get a spring floor for gymnastics, an estimated cost of $25,000. The Primary School will get storage cabinets and shelving. The

Middle School is slated to have an outbuilding used for both storage and for a workshop, an estimated cost of $30,000. Johnson said the various capital improvements are culled from requests from building administrators and supervisors.

ìThe requests were extremely restrained and justifiable,î she said. ìThere were no long wish lists. These are their basic urgent needs.î

The board also authorized initiating a facility study of the high school and authorized district administrators to go out for bid on items in the capital improvements over $50,000. The boiler and security system are among the items which would qualify.

ìThis is a reasonable and cautious plan that says we want to move ahead thoughtfully,î said Superintendent Bob Stepaniak at the meeting Thursday night the plan.

Remodeling
There is also about $896,000 in building improvements that are pending further review. The board voted to go ahead with a study looking further into the need for such improvements.

A majority of the money would go toward a variety of remodeling improvements to the Main Street School.

The first phase would consist of the construction of a conference room where the media center currently is, entry security, a mail/print shop and an expanded second floor. The conference room would be used for school board meetings, for meetings between parents, teachers and students and for administrative meetings. It could also be used potentially for public meetings.

The second phase would consist of modifications to the Early Childhood offices. The third phase would involve remodeling offices on the west side of second floor. The fourth phase is designated for creating office space for the IT department.

This sum also includes the replacement of high school lockers and dugouts for softball.

None of these have been approved yet, but they are put forth as recommendations for capital improvements.

Also at the meeting:
ï Board members and some district staff were teary-eyed as board chairperson Mary Jo Ahlgren gave a speech at her last school board meeting.

ìI want to thank every board member for support and friendship over the years,î she said.
Ahlgren has served on the school board since May 1991 and has been board chair for most of the 14 years she has occupied the board.

ìShe always keeps in mind what is best for our communities,î board member Kim Salo said about her colleague.

As a result of Ahlgrenís moving out of the school district, the board had to reorganize. Vice chairperson Salo was nominated to chairperson; Donna Setter was voted to vice chairperson; and Donna Hubbard was nominated as treasurer.

The board has issued a notice of intent for the appointment of a new board member and is open to receiving applications until July 13. The applicants will then interview with the remaining board members.

ï The board recognized fifth-grader Marisa Husnik, who attended the Junior Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. She spent seven days in the capital and was one of only 200 students nationwide nominated to attend. Her teacher, Steve Ogren, nominated her.

ï The board honored 16 parents and community members who received the Presidentís Bronze Award for between 100-249 hours of volunteer service at the Primary School. They are Nicole Dornbusch, Shannon Huberty, Amy Johnson, Melody Moravec, Cheri Lehman, Bill Siesel, Beth Steele, Chris Strohmayer, Lori Fisk, Wendy OíDay, Deb Johnson, Lynne Seim, Danielle Immel, Laurie James, Kris Danks and Robb Turbeville.

Three people received the Silver Award for 250-plus hours of volunteer service at the Primary School. They are Dawn Vilaysack, Donna Hubbard and Tina Ness.

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