Monday, July 17 the Rushford-Peterson School Board held their last board meeting in what will soon be a vacant building. The new preK-12 school facility is nearing completion and the keys will be turned over to the school August 15. Six of the seven members on the board were present for the meeting and posed for a photo in the nearly empty biology room to mark the occasion.
Progress on the new site is a mix of trying to finish the work and trying to clean the facility for the rapidly approaching school year. “It’s going gangbusters out there,” chuckled Tim Robertson, of ICS Consulting, representative for the school project.
Items being finished up include the installation of wood trim and doors, the remaining balance of flooring, painting and sealing of the gymnasium floors. Terrazzo floors are now being polished. The parking lot has received a base course and a wear course will be laid prior to the completion date. The lot is a nice amenity for the school whose parking has up until now consisted of parking along the busy, main Highway 43 corridor. Trees were planted at the site and all addition landscaping, including an irrigation system, is complete. Lights are in and the mechanical systems are on. “Everything is going at 100%,” added Robertson.
Test and Balance for the mechanical systems will be done and a team will come in and ensure that the results indicate things are functioning per engineer’s designs. This will put the facility on target for a Health and Safety check.
A change order in the amount of $25,550 was presented to the board and approved unanimously. It included the previously discussed fire lane paving and rainwater relocation. “We’re coming in on budget,” noted Robertson. “We’re shooting for $38 million and change ($38,623,000). There are no substantial issues that will catch us off guard. We will need two more months to say, ‘This is the number where we’re at.’ Now, we’re just trying to give it that final push.”
A formal ribbon cutting ceremony and open house will be held Saturday, August 19, at 10 a.m., at the new school site.
An annual 10-year updated Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Plan was also approved at the meeting. The plan indicates expenditures for 2017 totaling $101,115 for district facilities. In 2018, that number will drop to $64,677. Over the following eight years, the figure hovers between $37,350 and $53,850. “It’s a fluid document,” noted District Superintendent Chuck Ehler. “There are also deferred maintenance costs in there.”
One item, pulled from the Consent Agenda for special consideration, was the recommendation of hiring of Tom Vix at the varsity basketball coach. Vix has a long career with the R-P basketball program, but tendered his resignation teaching and coaching last year. The district posted the position for head coach internally, for district employees, as per policy, and Assistant Basketball Coach Chris Drinkall applied for the position. After an interview, Athletics Director Dan Bieberdorf and Superintendent Chuck Ehler opted to offer the position outside of district staff to Vix. Citing Vix’s established coaching career, Ehler indicated the hire would be, “A nice way for Vix to finish out his career.”
Board Directors Dean Mierau and Jon Pettit questioned the process of the hire. “If he tendered his resignation from teaching and coaching, I do not feel that obligation,” said Pettit. It was also noted by Pettit that two other districts had sought Vix for their coaching positions. Board Director Joyce Iverson, via Skype, made a motion to approve the hire of Vix. It was seconded by Julie Koop. A roll call vote ended in a 3:3 split, with Valerie Howe, Mierau, and Pettie opposed.
Talk then turned to offering the position to coaching applicant and current Assistant Coach Drinkall. Indications of setting a precedent of choosing a candidate over someone currently teaching in the district and the one-year coaching agreement that Vix agreed to for 2016 were included.
“As clearly stated to you, after an interview and conversations our recommendation to you, with Mr. Bieberdorf and my consensus is to hire Mr. Vix. I ask you as a board to take that into consideration, not to, but out of respect for what coach Vix has done for our district,” responded Ehler.
Board Director Joyce Iverson stated the board should give Vix a chance and that she felt it premature to vote on someone else.
“Vix will be working in Spring Grove this year, right? So, there will be some time before he’s here. Who will run the practice? The assistant, right?” asked Mierau.
“Yes, but he’ll be here for practice. The assistant was understanding knowing it is for one year,” added Ehler.
Board Chairman echoed Iverson’s earlier comment that she felt it premature to look at a different hire. He also stated that no one had spoken with Drinkall to see if he was on board with the head coaching job, should the board approve his hire for the role instead.
Mierau questioned whether it was in the board’s discretion to make a motion otherwise and Linder answered it was. “I’m not speaking for him [Drinkall], but I doubt if he applied for the position that he wouldn’t be on board with it.” It was motioned by Pettit and seconded by Mierau to offer the position to Chris Drinkall. The vote was again split 3:3, due to the absence of Board Director Bonnie Prinsen, this time with Iverson, Koop, and Linder opposed. The matter will be tabled until the August meeting.
A letter from Destiny Life Church indicated to the board that the church would be willing to rent the current high school theatre and preschool classrooms once the building is vacated in August. Superintendent Ehler indicated a review of the building showed that running the boiler system to heat the spaces would cost the district $75,000. It’s unclear if there is a portion of the building that wouldn’t require the substantial heating cost and the board opted to table it for further discussion during the closed portion of the meeting.
The meeting was closed to discuss the sale of school property and the sale of the elementary/high school building.
The next regularly scheduled board meeting is Monday, August 21, at 5:30 p.m., in the Forum Room at the new school.
Leave a Reply