Sarah Ford, AP Staff
Progress at the district’s new Erie Elementary School was discussed at the Erie Board of Education meeting on Monday, August 21. Superintendent Chuck Milem updated the board on the ongoing renovations at the former Annex building on 5th St., saying that “day to day, it changes very quickly.”
Recent work includes gutting the inside to concrete and steel, removing walls, and opening up the space for the extensive renovations. Old boiler pipes and electrical have been demoed, walls removed, cuts made in the floor for plumbing, and contractors have been busy connecting the new addition to the old and getting the building up to code.
Stichter Construction was wrapping up their excavating work, including the water retainage area. They had to test some soil after contacting an old boiler room during demolition. Tri City Electric has been helpful in getting parts in from across the country, which keeps everything running smoothly. Ragan Mechanical has been working on HVAC and plumbing components, and Centennial Concrete was digging in footings, with rebar and steel work slated for October – when the vision will “really start taking shape.”
Milem said the old shop and welding room will be a STEM lab classroom with more windows and a glass garage door when it’s done. “It will open it up so the students can go outside and fly drones. I’m really excited about the space, it’ll be the best in the district when it’s done,” said Milem.
Work on the pre-k and kindergarten wing has included gutting it down to concrete and steel for the electrical, mechanical, and plumbing as part of the renovation process. There will be a secure entry for pre-k only, with a drop-off circle. The previous Tiny Town foyer will be a kitchen, the restrooms converted to a concession stand, and sprinklers installed throughout the building for fire protection.
“Every place has been heavily renovated,” said Milem, adding that the project is on track and on time. Work on site utilities put the project slightly behind but contractors are catching up. He meets with contractors every other Tuesday, and utilizes their web page for site safety, timeline updates, photos, and more.
In action associated with the construction the board approved a resolution for procurement of masonry services, which will allow Estes Construction to hire contractors and keep things moving. Milem reported the district has opened public bidding twice for the masonry work but didn’t receive any bids. “This will keep us on track and on time,” he told the board.
Milem also provided an update on other district projects: all the new windows were installed at the middle school using ESSER funds, a new fire alarm panel was installed at the middle school using funds from the Health Life Safety plan, and sidewalks at the football field were done with school maintenance grants. Milem reported that the board needs to come up with a spending plan for the school maintenance grants or else the district will have to pay the funds back. “We need to determine how to spend it, and we must be strategic,” he told the board.
Budget
Milem next gave the board a presentation on the FY 2024 tentative budget before the September 25 public hearing and meeting. He noted that the budget and public hearing have been advertised, meeting the 30- day requirement of being on display.
Milem said working on the budget is always a difficult task to forecast the year with revenue and expenditures. “There can be a dozen ‘what if’ scenarios with what the state is going to do,” he told the board, adding that he uses historical data and the expense variance report in FY 23 to extract last year’s numbers. He hopes to have more concise numbers in September to update the budget before the vote. Revenue highlights included:
Funding from the “scaled down” Constellation Energy agreement, though the Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) should go up a bit. The EAV for FY 23-25 should be the same, based on assessed value.
Personal Replacement Tax – Milem called it the “wild card” since it was down 30 % in a year ($3 million); the district expects to receive 28% less than received last year, which is significant.
Evidence based funding – ECUSD #1 is a Tier 4 school, so they don’t get funding like other districts. Title grants are similar.
ESSER 3 – The final amount the school needs to spend is $310,165, which has already been allocated to pay for the Middle School Window project.
1% sales tax revenue – Assume it’s the same as last year.
Milem said the district is funded 91% via local tax.
In expenditures, the collective bargaining agreements and upcoming retirements were factored in. Health insurance had a 2.74% increase, which was “very minimal.” The 3-year bus lease remains similar while anticipating fuel costs like last year. Special education costs are “a bit higher.” Operating expenses for gas, water, and electric are uncertain since services at the Annex building are currently turned off.
Milem reported that the Education Fund has $12 million in FY 24, though he had to “under and over-estimate to remain in a careful zone.” Milem assured the board that the district will remain debt free, even with the building budget, since they’re using reserves to pay for the renovation project. The budget includes $1.5 million in working cash abated for the building.
Milem summarized that the district continues to move forward, the process takes time, but they’re keeping the ball rolling. It’s a normal year to year budget and the district continues to contribute surplus to the funds.
Board Conference
Board of Education President Jason Norman next reminded the school board members to register for a school board conference November 17-19. A policy meeting will be scheduled to go over general updates and reviews to get state compliant and legal, which is a required update every 5 years.
Action Items
The Board approved an amendment to the food service bid for the elementary kitchen, with Milem stating that the bid was “lower than what we originally had in the budget.”
The board approved the August consent agenda with meeting minutes, activity accounts, financial reports, bills payable, and purchase orders. The personnel consent agenda was approved as presented:
Hires
Staff – Shelby Misfeldt, Elementary Teacher (Step 1); Kristina Hamm, Megan Weeber, and Lorann Geerts as Paraprofessionals, $13 per hour; Hunter Kenniston, Event Custodian, $13 per hour; and Naomi Knudtson, Assistant Cook, $13 per hour.
Coaching – Kyle Foster, Head F/S Baseball Coach (Step 2) at $4,623; Brad Punke, 8th grade boys’ basketball (Step 0) at $3,216; Caleb Naftzger, 5/6th Assistant Football Coach, paid by PLT; and Dana Murphy, HS Academic Bowl Coach, paid by PLT.
Sponsors – DeAnna Schindel, Freshman (Step 4), $1,608; Michelle Buri, Sophomore (Step 1), $1,005; Ryan Winckler, Sophomore (Step 6), $2,010; Jason Orman, Junior (Step 6), $2,010; Jonathan Schlagheck, Junior (Step 6), $2,010; Colin Mix, Senior (Step 3), $1,608; and Emily Majeski, Senior (Step 4), $1,608.
Resignations
Connor Sibley, 5/6th grade Asst. Football Coach; Montana Cole, Elementary Paraprofessional; Alissa DeShane, HS Asst. Track Coach; Amber Baima, HS Asst. Basketball Cheer Coach; and Bryan Underwood, Bilingual Spanish Paraprofessional.
6th Grade Basketball
The board approved adding a 6th grade boys’ and girls’ basketball program for students as a way to expand opportunities and options. High school coaches Ryan Winckler and Chris Brown proposed the idea a couple months ago, so they can teach the fundamentals and get athletes going in the sport earlier. The current elementary conference has a 6th grade schedule available for the teams.
The season will run in conjunction with the middle school basketball program and will not operate as a co-op with PLT#3.
The board then went into executive session, with no further action taken.
