Barnum board overturns vote on building improvements

The Barnum school board voted against proceeding with the $8.32 million in proposed projects at the regular meeting of the board on Tuesday, March 15.

Board member Paul Coughlin pointed out during the meeting that the board had approved, 4-3, to proceed with the projects back in December but, for “due diligence,” had to vote once again about proceeding with the projects and with selling bonds to finance the projects.

The projects consisted of replacing a cooler in the elementary school, indoor air quality improvements, and a roof replacement on the 1989 section of the elementary school.

In the high school, the projects included improving the indoor air quality throughout the building, installing new high-efficiency boilers for the heating system, roof replacement on the oldest section, updating the fire alarm system, and adding an accessible door entrance and new energy-efficient LED lighting.

Funding would have been provided by a health and safety levy ($6,015,400) and long-term facilities maintenance ($1,687,600) and abatement bonds of $313,700. General obligation bonds in the amount of $8.3 million were to be sold to cover the upfront costs and be repaid from those sources over time.

A vote on the sale of the bonds had been on the agendas for the January and February school board meetings but action had been tabled at both meetings. Ehlers, the financial consultant, and ICS, the managers of a 10-year comprehensive plan for all upgrades including those projects, reported to the board at the February meeting.

“We’ve developed a draft of a 10-year plan with the assumption that the school district will be receiving $258,000 in long-term facilities maintenance funds each year,” Natalie Hoff of ICS told the board at the February meeting. “But the funding is not enough for the boiler and roof needs.”

Dana Miletich, a school district resident and taxpayer, spoke to the board during the public participation portion of the March meeting and asked if anyone had checked the air quality in the school.

The board was just listening to public comment; no questions could be answered.

He told the board that he heard the new air quality system was a humidification system.

“It’s air conditioning, plain and simple,” he said. “Not many homes have air conditioning and we’re going to put it in the school that is closed during the months when air conditioning is most necessary? This is fraudulent. You are paying money when you don’t know if there is a safety concern there.”

When the vote was called, board chair Jessica Unkelhaeuser voted in favor of proceeding with the projects but the vote failed when the other six board members voted “nay.”

When the vote was called for selling the bonds, there were seven “nay” votes.

Part of the discussion before the vote was about taking some of the projects from the list and resubmitting it for another vote. The cooler for the elementary, the boiler in the high school, and the fire alarm system were top priorities and needed to be done.

In other matters, at the beginning of the meeting, several teachers spoke to the board again about settling a fair contract with the teachers.

“We do so much more than our job description states,” teacher Sarah McDonald pointed out to the board.

The next regular meeting of the Barnum school board is set for 6:30 p.m. April 19 in the auditorium or online on the Barnum Public Schools Facebook page.