Greene County Schools will spend part of its share of the $82 billion approved by Congress last month for coronavirus relief to finish work on a new HVAC system at the middle school.
Superintendent Tim Christensen told the board at its regular meeting Jan. 20 that the district expects to receive in excess of $796,000. He said the preliminary plans are to spend the money on summer school this coming summer, mental health services, and the last two HVAC units that haven’t yet been replaced. “Air quality is a big thing that we can use it to improve,” he said. “They’re looking at future pandemics. We hope we never have that, but they’re (the feds) looking at how you can be in better shape to deal with that if it happens.”
The two units weren’t replaced due to schedule and cash flow constraints.
Unlike the first round of pandemic relief for schools, this round will be paid as reimbursement for eligible expenses, not cash up front. The district has up to 27 months to submit expenses for reimbursement.
The board approved a series of new policies to align with new rules adopted by the Iowa State Board of Education for when and how schools can restrain or seclude students. In Iowa, school staff can physically restrain students or place them in seclusion during a violent outburst to protect the student, classmates and staff.
The new rules were adopted in November, but guidance was not provided to school districts until earlier this month.
The new policies deal with when and how restraint or seclusion can be used, staff training, how the event is to be documented, and how parents are to be notified. The policies were written by the Iowa Association of School Boards.
The board approved the first reading of the policies and waived the second reading as the rules went into effect that same day.
The board accepted an application for voluntary retirement from long-time high school business education teacher Teresa Green. Green has taught in the Jefferson-based district for 41 years. Hers was the final application for voluntary early retirement at the end of the current school year.
The former middle school gymnasium was on the agenda as old business. Christensen reported asbestos abatement is underway in both the 1952 gymnasium and the 1921 school. Bid requests were set to be published Jan. 21 for demolition of both structures. The board had requested the cost of demolition before deciding the fate of the buildings.
The board’s discussion was familiar, as it was the same discussion held the last several months. Developer Nate Adams wants to purchase the school from the district for $1, and then spend an estimated $6 million repurposing it as upscale apartments. The building qualifies for state historic tax credits, which would be part of the financing package for the project.
The gymnasium, though, is not old enough for the tax credits. Adams told the board in August he had not been able to find a business model in which leaving the gym standing was a viable option. He estimated the gym needs $2 million in updates for it to be functional as a separate building, as his plan for the school requires detaching the gym.
School board members at the Jan. 20 meeting were worried about the future of the Three-Block Project, of which the school-turned-apartments is a key element. Board member Steve Fisher asked if there were any assurances Adams will ultimately complete the housing project, and board member Catherine Wilson echoed his concern.
“There’s an extremely high likelihood he’s going to get the project done, but I question how firm of a commitment we need,” Fisher said.
Board president Steve Karber incorrectly reported that Adams had presented his plans and the Three-Block Project to the Jefferson city council and it was well-received. Adams presented the plans to the Greene County Development Corporation board on Jan. 12. He has not attended a city council meeting.
Christensen had hoped the board would make a decision about the gymnasium at its Feb. 17 meeting, but he said the bids received for demo would still be valid if the board delayed a decision until March. Adams will be asked to attend the February board meeting to answer questions.
Board member John McConnell, a building contractor, said the cost for demolition of the gym will likely be at least $1 million.
The board also revisited requiring all students to wear face masks. Christensen reported all was “going well” since returning to school after remote-learning only prior to Thanksgiving.
Wilson asked to revisit the mask requirement, noting that the district changed to “red” on its matrix – requiring face masks at all times in every building – in November when the district was “out of control with the virus.”
She said Covid-19 positivity rates are now where they were in October, when students weren’t required to wear masks all the time. She’d like high school students to be able to “take a break” from mask-wearing when they’re alone on the Learning Stairs.
Karber reminded the board the mask mandate approved by the county board of supervisors to be in effect through March 31 requires persons to wear masks whenever they’re in a building open to the public or when they’re exposed to the public. He said public health experts say that even with vaccinating under way, the public can expect at least another two to three months of needing to maintain social distance and wear masks.
The board by consensus agreed to continue requiring all persons in all district buildings to wear masks. The only exception is staff working alone in an office or classroom with the door closed.
Sam Harding, owner’s rep on the construction project, said Greene County will host a Iowa High School Music Association jazz choir contest in the high school auditorium Feb. 8. That will be the first event held in the new auditorium.
He said painters are still finishing work in the high school, working only after hours. “It’s coming along pretty good,” he said. The goal is to have the commons “looking great” by Feb. 8.
The first year in the new school is also a learning time for the grounds people as they see where snow fences should be placed. Principal Brian Phillips reported “a glacier of ice” right outside the north entrance. No ice-melt product can be put down until the concrete has cured for a year, so sand has to suffice this year.
There are still a few “small issues” at the new middle school gym, Harding said, but the wrestling room is finally in full use. “I’m pleased as held how we used the square footage in that building,” he added.
