Colby K-12 going to add AC to cafeteria, theater
The Colby School District is using a chunk of its COVID relief money from the federal government to pay for air conditioning in its cafeteria, theater and all of its high school classrooms.
At its Aug. 16 meeting, the school board approved several upgrades to its heating, venting and air conditioning (HVAC) system, using money from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund.
The first motion was to pay Complete Control $78,530 for installing three condenser units on the roof in order to provide air conditioning to the cafeteria and theater. The second motion was to spend $153,444 for Complete Control to replace seven ventilator units and run AC to all the classrooms in the high school.
In addition, the district is going to pay $38,850 to replace two boilers in the pool and two boilers at the elementary school for another $38,850.
All of the money is coming from ESSER funds, which were provided by the federal government as a way for school districts to respond to the costs associated with COVID-19. Air quality improvements are an eligible expense.
According to superintendent Steve Kolden, the district is set to receive a total of just under $3 million in ESSER funds over three installments.
Some of the money will also be used for tax relief, and some has been used for academic remediation. This includes extended summer school hours and afterschool tutoring for students who have fallen behind and need to recover classroom credits.
teacher, Bridget Donahue as a middle school swim coach, Deborah Bloom as a high school Spanish teacher, Lisa Niskanen as an elementary music teacher, Tara Nigon as a special education teacher, Dorothy Vesely as a food service computer aid and Heather Brehm as a K-3 reading interventioinist.
_ Board members talked about ways to improve their engagement with the community and eventually settled on starting an online forum where people can post questions for the board. The questions will then be answered by board members at their regular meetings.
_ The board appointed members Todd Schmidt and Cheryl Ploeckelman to the consolidation study team being formed with the Abbotsford School District. The board is also soliciting letters of interest from teachers, parents, staff, students and community members who want to represent the district on the study team.
The plan is to appoint the remaining team members at the board’s next regular meeting on Sept. 20.
_ The board accepted a milk bid from NDSM-DePere for the 2021-2022 school year, with a price of .2505 for a halfpint of 1% low fat dairy milk, .2645 for 1% chocolate milk and .2752 for fat free strawberry milk.
_ The board approved the creation of a mutual technology support consortium with the districts of Abbotsford, Spencer and Granton. For a membership fee of $200, the districts will share technology resources and organize group purchasing of computers and software.
_ The board approved the creation of .125 full-time equivalent academic support position for English Learners. At a cost of $4,850 per semester, this person will provide upper-level language help to native Spanish speakers who are taking high-level classes such as calculus.
_ The board approved a $2 per hour raise for district lifeguards who obtain their Water Safety Instruction certification through the American Red Cross.
