Unfinished construction hinders start of school

During the Aug. 18 meeting of the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva school board, district superintendent Michael Meihak summarized a recent discussion with representatives of the construction company which has been working all summer to redo the utility infrastructure under Ash Avenue South in front of the secondary building and then regrade and resurface the street. Also under construction is a section of Broadway Avenue South: the two streets comprise the path typically taken by school buses as they deliver and pick up students at the start and end of each school day.

 

“The start of the school year is definitely going to be interesting,” observed secondary principal Grant Berg wryly.

 

However, both Meihak and Berg expressed optimism, saying the construction company offered assurances it would be as accommodating as possible, and offered to devise a traffic plan which should allow the school to conduct business as usual with relatively few complications.

 

By the start of school, Meihak and Berg reported, it is expected Ash Avenue will be up to grade and usable. “It won’t be paved,” warned Meihak. “We’ll be driving on gravel–but we will be able to drive on it.”

 

The parking lot east of the school will be available for use, and will also be central to the traffic flow plan for buses and student drop-offs. 

 

As work on the street proceeds, the two administrators said, the street will receive a two-inch base layer of asphalt prior to winter, with an additional layer to follow as circumstances permit, but perhaps not even until next spring.

 

Berg revealed the traffic flow pattern was to be ready for presentation during the secondary site open house the evening of Aug. 27 and would be posted on the school website for reference.

 

In other business, board members approved a “lease to own” agreement for two 77-passenger school buses to be used this year. The district will make yearly payments of about $63,600 for five years after which it will own the buses at a cost of roughly $320,000 for the two. Transportation director Dan Schmidt has been in contact with Hoglund Bus Sales of Monticello throughout the summer and expects to receive the vehicles in time to incorporate them into this fall’s transportation program.

 

Schmidt also spoke with board members about the possibility of acquiring another, smaller vehicle for use in daily transportation needs. He mentioned efforts to determine a route which includes a family located at the fringes of the district, whose borders span into five counties. If he were to add the family to a bus route, he predicted, it would lengthen the route by as much as 45 minutes of travel time–a possibility which board members quickly rejected. The district already owns a number of vans which are used in transporting small groups, including some who travel to locations outside the district for specific services.

 

The flexibility offered by owning another small vehicle, Schmidt said, would help him feel better positioned to cope with the various complications likely to arise as the year continues and the timing and number of specific needs becomes better known.

 

Schmidt listed a seven-passenger van, a ten-passenger van and a small school bus with a handicap lift as possible choices. He also told school board members he has contracted with Palmer Bus Service in the past for student transportation, and could do so again, but that the cost of such a contract could be placed toward the purchase price of a vehicle.

 

After fairly lengthy discussion, board member Kelly Delacruz presented a motion that a short-term contract should be pursued with Palmer, with the question of whether to purchase an additional vehicle to be reconsidered at the September board meeting, when there would be fewer uncertainties regarding the level of need. The motion passed.

 

Board members acknowledged the receipt of a $5,000 trust from the Karen and David Warke estate; Meihak said the intent is to find a way to use the money to enhance activities or athletic programs, since that was the area of interest indicated in the trust.  

 

A brief discussion occurred during the meeting regarding the district’s reclassification, being moved to Class A from Class AA. Berg stated districts are evaluated for placement every two years; during the evaluation, the number of students who meet the guidelines for “free and reduced price lunches” is taken into account. According to Berg, the district has gone from being the smallest in AA to one of the largest in A. The MSHSL website states the 128 largest districts in the state are AA, all remaining districts are A.

 

Berg said that, since the district remains in the Gopher Conference, teams will still compete against opponents familiar from past years during the regular season. But once tournament play begins, he said teams will be “traveling east more than west.”