School district looks upward

April 16, 2008 02:30 pm

— By PAUL LORENZ
paul.lorenz@mcleansborotimesleader.com
McLEANSBORO — Roofs throughout Hamilton County Unit 10 and Dahlgren’s school building are topping the school district’s priority list for improvements.
The Unit 10 school board Tuesday authorized the administration to seek bids for district roofing projects and improvements at Dahlgren School.
There are 10 roofs throughout the district in need of some repair, Brent Johnson, Unit 10’s head custodian, said.
“The roofs are getting critical, districtwide,” Johnson told the school board.
Also, a structural engineer surveyed the older portion of Dahlgren School, suggesting work to shore up flooring, repair brick and do some isolated tuckpointing in addition to new roofing, Superintendent Vince Mitchell said. The estimated cost of that work would be $68,000 to $74,000, he said.
The district wants to try to get contracts in place prior to a projected 15-percent increase in the cost of roofing materials, Mitchell said.
“It will probably be a two-year plan to get the roofs caught up,” he said.
In other business Tuesday:
School calendar finalized
May 30 will be the last day of the current school year for Unit 10 faculty and students — “assuming we don’t have anything else to cause us to close schools,” Mitchell said of a year marked by closings due to weather conditions.
The school board also approved the school calendar for the 2008-09 school year, which kicks off with a teacher institute day on Aug. 18.

Summer League update
An expanded Summer League program has had 369 children signed up so far, Mitchell reported Tuesday.
That figure is probably “a little higher” than in the past with the decision to expand the leagues to include 4-year-olds, he said.
The Summer League Committee has discussed the purchase of a portable pitching mound for the junior varsity ball field, Mitchell said.
Also, this fall, the committee wants to try to correct a problem at that ball field with water from the road causing unplayable conditions, he said.
The committee has also discussed the purchase of a set of aluminum bleachers, Mitchell said.
The Summer League program currently has about $24,000 in funds, he said.

Kindergarten update
Eighty kindergartners are signed up for the 2008-09 school year, Mitchell reported.
So far, 64 kindergartners are assigned to East Side School and 16 to Dahlgren School, he said. Any late registrants “will probably have to go to Dahlgren” to balance out the class sizes at the two schools, he said.

Consulting contract renewed
Bushue Human Resources, Effingham, will continue as an insurance consultant for the school district. The school board approved the renewal of a three-year contract with Bushue at a cost of $2,150 per year. The company’s consulting services include property, casualty and workers’ compensation insurance, but not health insurance, Mitchell noted.

Also noted
McLeansboro Police Chief Robert Crow and Hamilton County Sheriff Greg Brenner have been Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officers here for 20 years ... Unit 10 is in discussions with McKendree University, Lebanon, to host master’s degree classes in school administration here ... Junior/Senior High School Principal Jeff Fetcho will continue as Unit 10’s Illinois High School Association representative with the board’s approval Tuesday.