Gilman hires engineer for air conditioning expansion in school

Gilman Middle School students and staff could get some relief from the heat as the board members voted Monday night to move forward with a project to extend air conditioning to that portion of the K-12 school building.

According to district administrator Walter Leipart, the middle school is the only area of the building not currently with air conditioning. The district is looking at a project with Complete Control to upgrade the HVAC for the building replacing the remaining unit ventilator (univent) systems with a central forced-air system that will require the installation of new ductwork. The new system would be digitally controlled with the district to be able to set the amount of outside air combining in to the building from a central point.

Tom Schafer from Complete Control explained that each system has its pros and cons, noting that while the univents worked, there were many moving parts to them and many ways they could break down, in addition to being very loud in the classroom settings. “Univents haven’t been specced for schools for many years,” he said.

Cost projections for the project have been based to this point on square foot averages. Schafer said in order for the district to move forward, they would have to hire an engineer to design the system and, due to its scale, the plans would need to be submitted to the state for approval. If approved the project would be done during the summer of 2024.

Leipart noted that the district has $450,000 in federal ESSER grant funds in addition to funds in the district’s Fund 46 capital improvement savings account. “We have the funds to do the project,” Leipart said.

Schafer said the district has plenty of space in the ceilings to install the ductwork.

In addition to the project, Leipart said they are looking at existing space in the lower middle school, that with the district’s decline in enrollment, are no longer being used for classroom space. He said they are looking to create a larger conference center space which could serve as a board meeting room rather than the board meeting in the library.

“I think HVAC is super important,” Leipart said of the need for the project. He noted the school’s fitness center is in the currently non air-conditioned portion of the building and that due to not being able to control humidity levels, they are seeing equipment breaking down prematurely.

Board members approved hiring Apex Engineering at $29,000 to work with Complete Controls and do the design work and submit plans for the project. It will still have to come back to the school board to decide if it should proceed.

Insurance

Gilman school board members got a rare bit of good news for the district’s health insurance premiums. Through a change in insurance companies, those enrolled in the district’s plan could see lower costs, expanded provider options and an easier to understand plan structure.

Insurance consultant Thom Mangan explained that Security Health had initially come in with an 11% renewal rate based on the district’s 130% usage rate — staff received $1.30 worth of coverage for every dollar paid in.

Mangan said he was unsatisfied with Security Health’s offer and went to the market to see what was available. He said that with a small group such as Gilman School District judging based solely on usage was inaccurate in predicting future use and instead they should be looking at different models based on the overall health projections of the district staff.

He explained that insurance companies want to see that families have skin in the game in regard to insurance. He said deductibles are only one part of that and don’t have the impact they used to.

Mangan explained he went to 10 different carriers asking them to provide quotes for plans that were as similar as possible to what Gilman schools offered through Security.

Of those carriers, United Healthcare (UHC) came back with the best option based on the overall demographics of the pool. In the process they were able to offer a plan with similar out of pocket costs for members with the bonus of eliminating the health reimbursement account (HRA) portion.

Mangan proposed giving employees an option to choose between two UHC plans, one with a $3,000 deductible with 100% coverage after the deductible is met and a maximum out of pocket cost for a family of $10,000, and the other with a $2,000 deductible with an 80% coverage after the deductible is met with a maximum out of pocket cost for a family of $6,850.

The good news for the school district is that either presents a sizable cost savings with the total cost decrease of 7.38% over the current year with the higher deductible option and a savings of 7.17% over the current year with the lower deductible option.

Mangan said the net savings to the district will be about $65,000 per year.

Board members asked about coverage, the Minneapolis- based UHC has a large in network provider pool that stretches nationwide and includes all major healthcare systems in this region. “It actually goes global,” Mangan said, noting his daughter who is currently in Scotland could go to an in-network provider there.

“I am really happy with the results we are at today,” Mangan said.

Board members approved the health insurance switch with offering employees the option of choosing between the two plans during the enrollment period. Board members also approved continuing with Dental Difference and with Guardian for the long-term disability with no changes to those premium amounts.

Finances

Gilman school district is a definite winner coming out of the 2023-2025 state budget cycle. According to Leipart, the district will see a bump to the $11,000 per pupil amount for the school’s revenue cap.

Leipart walked the board through a budget projection that showed a potential levy of about $2.38 million for the district and a total budget of about $7 million.

Leipart said the district is projected to see an additional $160,000 in state aid under the plan.

“We are one of the lucky districts, they are funding the increase for us,” he said. “That is not the case in other districts around the state.”

He said that while the legislature says it spent a billion dollars on education in the budget, only about one-third of that is coming from actual state funds with most of it being increased authorization to raise taxes in districts throughout the state.

Leipart gave board members a projection looking out for the next several years and noted they are about where they projected to be when they presented information to the community for the referendum and that they could anticipate the local levy creeping up to about the $2.67 million to $2.8 million level in coming years as the student population levels out from its decline in recent years.

A major challenge for districts the size of Gilman is that there are very few additional areas to cut in regard to staffing, one of the highest expenses of the district, which means the budget remains about the same if they are to drop or add students. “It is not like I could cut a first grade teacher, we only have one,” Leipart said, giving a random example.

In other business board members:

  Approved with some revisions the student and parent handbook, the extracurricular code, coaches handbook and paraprofessional handbook. Darrell Thompson recorded no votes for the extracurricular code and the coaches handbooks. There had been discussion on the coaches handbook about evaluations and if they would be done routinely. It was decided to eliminate that part and instead have it done on an as-needed basis by the athletic director and administration with more serious concerns to be brought to the board’s attention during the season as they arise rather than waiting until after the season is over.

  Approved hiring Tyler Pockat as the new varsity boys basketball coach (with Valorie Kulesa opposed and Chris Skabroud abstaining), Cory Halida as the middle school football coach, and Derek Nichols as the high school baseball coach. The board also approved resignations by Jen Eckert from her special education teaching position and from Phil Tallman as assistant boys basketball coach.

  Formally approved adopting the state’s educational standards. State law requires districts to approve standards every year either the state’s model standards or some other standards if the board wishes them to be different. Leipart said he didn’t see any reason to differ from the state model.

Gilman Athletic Director Robin Rosemeyer favored having a set rubric in place if the district would want to do regular evaluations of coaches.Brian Wilson/The Star News