School Board oks roof bids

Published 7:42 am Wednesday, February 14, 2018

The Austin School Board on Monday granted Interstate Roofing the summer roof work for its low bid of $318,660.

The bid was one of four submitted, with the highest coming in at $450,000.

The work will be done on Packer Gym, as part of the district’s regularly scheduled, long-range capital improvement plan.

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Sections of roofs are replaced on school buildings each year. The work, scheduled to begin on June 11, will last 16 working days.

The roofing will be a Garland-manufactured modified, built-up roof system, with white rock for reflectivity.

In other business on Monday, the board:

Integration: Approved the Achievement and Integration Budget for the next school year, at $864,400, as presented by coordinator Kristi Beckman. The budget helps fund efforts to increase student achievement, create equitable education opportunities, and reduce academic disparities based on students’ diverse racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds. The amount includes the hiring of another staff member, said Beckman.

“Four years ago, we did not have one Karenni student,” she said, explaining the need for more staff and interpretors. “Today we have 280.”

In a related subject, the board heard from Lynn Hemann, who is working as the English Language Learner coordinator this year. She reported that there were 939 students receiving ELL services, an increase of 100 from a year ago. There are 25 ELL teachers in the district.

Capital expenditures: Approved the 2018-2019 Capital Expenditures budget of $1.84 million, that results in a year’s end fund balance of $301,568.

Retirement: Accepted the retirement resignation, effective June 6, of Amy Baskin, who ends her career in education as administrator of the Community Learning Center in Austin.

Resignations: Accepted the resignation of Tana Lacy, an elementary teacher at Southgate Elementary School, and Denise Lundien, a special education teacher at the high school. Both resignations are effective on June 6.

Hires: Agreed to hire Alex Weis, a part-time physical education teacher at I. J. Holton Intermediate School; and Kathleen Lommen, a school counselor at Austin High School.

Leave: Granted a leave of absence, requested by Mandy Leopold, a gifted and talented teacher at Banfield Elementary School. The leave will be for the 2018-2019 year.