District makes plans for early dismissal
LAUREL — The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge school district may experience some growing pains or at least growing adjustments as accommodations will be made for the new building project for next school year.
For starters, students will be dismissing for summer vacation earlier than anticipated.
At the school board meeting Monday, members agreed to adjust final dismissal of the 2021-22 school year to Friday, May 13, one day prior to graduation. The dismissal date of Thursday, May 19 was originally scheduled.
The early out will allow teachers and staff to assist in packing and moving classroom equipment and supplies for the district’s building project. The school also met its required instructional hours due to lack of snow days.
Next year though students will be in classrooms longer as the school board approved a longer school day.
High school students’ school day next year will be 8 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. while middle and elementary school students will be in session 8 a.m. to 3:47 p.m.
This year’s summer session will go on as usual. Another summer program called Summer Explorers will be offered for those in Kindergarten through sixth grade with weekly sessions to explore topics and hobbies of interest to students such as cooking, art, photography, leadership, agriculture, and more.
Along with a change in schedules, arrangements are being made for alternative classroom sites as construction will be ongoing this fall.
The school board entered into an interlocal agreement with the City of Laurel for use and modification of the city auditorium and fire hall buildings for 15 months beginning in May and lasting through August 2023. The board also reviewed quotes from Fremont-based Williams Scotsman Inc. to lease three 68-foot-by-24-foot modular classrooms for 18 months.
Along with new construction, maintenance of current buildings made its way into school board discussion.
The district’s Transportation, Buildings and Grounds Committee has researched and is recommending approval of the purchase and installation of a diesel tank on school property. The tank will be located on the bus barn property. The tank will be double walled and will be equipped with a lockable pump and meter.
The committee will work with the state fire marshal for approval and establish an agreement with Hefner Oil in Coleridge to keep the tank full and to blend the fuel as necessary.
The Middle School facility in Coleridge will be needing a new HVAC rooftop unit after the current unit failed earlier this winter.
The committee received proposals from Rasmussen’s and also from the subcontractor who will be installing the new HVAC systems as part of the construction and renovation project - Tessier’s Inc.
Tessier’s proposed replacement would include a York-brand unit for a cost of $20,867. The quote is $6,000 less than the most recent bid received from Rasmussen’s.
Environmental Services, Inc. in Norfolk completed its survey of existing school facilities at the Laurel campus for asbestos. The company submitted a two-phase proposal for asbestos abatement starting May 23 and lasting three weeks, agreeing to coordinate with the construction management company Hausmann on site during that time.
John Wieser of Hausmann and Bob Soukup of CWP Architects shared updates related to the new building project including subcontractor bids and ongoing budget considerations.
The school board also approved an agreement with the city to transfer about 81,000 square feet of land west of the drainage ditch in Lions Club Park and adjacent to the pool/playground area. There is no cost associated with the transfer of title and deed for the property, however LCC agreed to construct a picnic shelter or covered seating shelter in the future.
At its last meeting, the school board also:
- Selected London VanCleave as the next student school board member. She has applied for early graduation and would fulfill the student board member role through December 2022. At that time, the position will remain vacant or the board could appoint someone.
- Approved a teacher contract for Carrie Williamson to teach Business/Accounting during the 2022-23 school year.
- Heard about preparations for Continuous School Improvement external team accreditation visit next week.
- Discussed a regional education compact for LCC to join with Nebraska Northeast Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources Education Compact, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Wayne State College and Northeast Community College. There is no cost to participate as a member school. Benefits include access to curriculum and learning experiences for students, professional development for Ag and Science teachers, and access to handson learning and internship opportunities for students.
- Heard an update on curriculum adoption and results from national assessments.
- Heard an update about past and upcoming student activities.
