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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007_04_24 Board Minutes BOARD OF TRUSTEES Idaho Falls School District No. 91 Board Work Meeting Minutes April 24, 2007 Administration Building Idaho Falls, ID 12:00 Noon Present from the Board of Trustees: Present from the Administration: Jerry Wixom, Chairman George Boland, Superintendent Tracie Miller Craig Ashton, Director of Curriculum Mary Ann Smith Karla LaOrange, Director of Personnel David Lent Guy Wangsgard, Director of Business Caroline Meagher, Recording Secretary Chairman Jerry Wixom called the board meeting to order. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by George Boland. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA Tracie Miller moved to adopt the agenda as written; Mary Ann Smith seconded the motion. Motion passed. WORK SESSION a. Hawthorne Phase II Bids The bids received for the Hawthorne project have come in and they are significantly above projections. These bids are presumed to be high because the time to complete the project is short that the contractors will need to pay overtime. There is also low coverage for subcontractors during this spring window. Brent McFarland from JRW and Associates was present and described three options that he proposes to the school district. 1) To open the job for bids again in December or January. 2) Split the project into two phases. The first phase will remodel the 1957 addition, and the second phase will remodel the original 1938 portion of the building. 3) Open the project to bids in September after reducing the work scope. George Boland recommended that we consider a conglomeration of all three suggestions and rewrite the scope of the job, open it for bids in August and work on the 1957 addition in the Fall/winter timeframe. Anne Seifert, Principal of Hawthorne Elementary, feels that the recommendations made by George are acceptable. There will be no academic interruption because they have enough classroom space. Safety is and always will be the top priority of the staff at Hawthorne. David Lent asked if there has been any increased risk to the kids at Hawthorne due to construction. Anne said there is not. The construction areas are well blocked off. Brent McFarlane said that there is asbestos tile in the 1957 addition, but it is contained and it is not expected to be airborne. Abatement was scheduled for 5/18-5/30 and the area will be Board Meeting Minutes—Page two 4/24/2007 blocked off with Visquine (tarpaulin) and duct tape and they will use a HEPA filter to create a negative air flow. This item will be proposed on the 5/8 agenda as an action item. We will need to open this project to bids again. We have five other schools that will be requiring similar upgrades and we may be able to bundle some of this work to reduce the costs. Anne Seifert gave the board of trustees a thank you note from the staff at Hawthorne school. They are very grateful for the upgrades and they are willing to endure whatever is necessary to do the job cost effectively. b. Community Education: The Community Education program was started in the early 70’s by Craig Ashton. At that time there were no other venues offering evening classes. Idaho Falls now houses EITC, Home Depot, many craft stores, the internet and many other sources for classes that compete with the program. Three years ago the program operated with a substantial deficit. The program has restructured twice and has recently been cut back to the point that the coordinator is no longer willing to manage the program. Even with the severe cut backs, the program still operates at a deficit. EITC has expressed an interest in offering the classes that Community Education has offered in the past. The Administration hopes to make a recommendation to the board of trustees during the May meeting and either re- write or eliminate Board Policy 607.0. To change policy there would need to be three readings of the policy, and there would be steps taken to ensure that the instructors and frequent students are informed and presented with alternatives. The mission of Idaho Falls School District 91 does not address adult education. Mary Ann Smith recognizes the goodwill that the program offers to the community and wants to be sensitive to those patrons. She welcomes feedback in the form of emails. Her email address is listed on the district web page under board of trustees. Mary Ann Smith, a member of the community involvement committee would like to study this issue more, recognizing the public relations that the program brings to the district. Most of the patrons are seniors who tend to vote for levies when they come up because of their connection to the school. David Lent moved to adjourn and Mary Ann Smith seconded the motion. Motion passed.