Costs for new fitness center creep up

Esko Schools superintendent Aaron Fischer told school board members Monday the construction of the new fitness center was progressing, but with unexpected costs. Previous work when the school was expanded in 1998 uncovered drain pipes that were no longer needed, but instead of being removed, were left in the ground.

"It's a $10,000 cost to remove that because it was underneath our new fitness center," Fischer said.

He also reminded the board of another issue, an extra door that a state reviewer ordered installed. Happily, the additional portal in the form of an air curtain is going to be far less expensive than originally thought. Early estimates were for $40,000, but one was found that meets the state requirements that can be had for $9,000. Nevertheless, neither item was in the original plan.

"So I'm not nervous right now, but just so you know, our contingency is becoming depleted," he said, referring to the project budget item set aside for unexpected expenses.

As a last resort there are other funds available.

"We have money that we did not spend in capital [expenditures]. It's still sitting there [so] I'm still very comfortable," Fischer said.

The board focused on a request from the robotics team to compete in an out-of-state tournament with the location still to be determined. Although positive about the idea, Fischer advised caution.

"I'm supporting this [but with one] caveat: As a board and administration, we must be very conscious of the amount of time our kids spend away from classrooms," he said.

Board chairman Jerry Frederick defended the junket.

"I have attended every out of town trip and those kids ... have studied like mad on the bus," he said. Students study at night on those trips, he observed, and he pointed out that robotics requires team members to maintain a high grade point average.

Robotics struck the imagination of board members.

"I would love to have them come in and share what they're doing because they are a very inspiring group, " Leona Johnson said.

Other board members wanted to see the robot "in person," and Frederick promised to arrange it.

In other action, board members approved no less than 19 different policies covering subjects as diverse as student discipline, non-resident enrollment, staff development, and online learning, to name a few.

The torrent of revised regulations was made necessary by this year's legislative session, which focused heavily on school management. Little extra time was given to the schools for implementation and, according to Fischer, the statutes are very prescriptive, requiring school policies to have exact wording. Some urgency was present because some of the due dates for enactment have already passed. Still, the board could take its time if they chose, Fischer said. In the end, the board approved all but one of the policies, reserving policy 617, "School District Ensurance of Standards," for further study.