Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home School Board voted Monday evening to authorize an evaluation committee to offer a contract to complete seismic upgrade projects at Foster and Holley elementary schools next summer.
The projects are funded by two $1.5 million grants from the state. The district completed a similar grant-funded $1.5 million project at Hawthorne Elementary this year.
The district is applying for a grant for Oak Heights, with hopes of completing that project in 2020, said Maintenance Supervisor Josh Darwood during the board’s regular meeting Monday evening.
The district previously applied for a grant for Oak Heights, but it was not selected.
The district is seeking a contract manager-general contractor for the projects, said Business Manager Kevin Strong. Three contractors joined a walkthrough of the schools, but others could submit proposals.
The district was scheduled to convene an evaluation committee Tuesday to review and score proposals. The committee will meet again on Thursday to interview finalists.
The district would like to issue a notice of intent to award the contract on Monday, Oct. 15, and following a waiting period, award the contract on Oct. 22. That will be prior to the next regular board meeting.
“We would like to get that construction manager on our team as early as we can,” Strong said. “We request the board grant the selection committee the authorization to select the contractor, so we can award the contact (on Oct. 22).”
The committee will include Strong, Darwood, Supt. Tom Yahraes and board member Debra Brown.
Darwood said he has met with architects at Holley and Foster, and he wants to get a jump on asbestos abatement during the Christmas break.
That began at the end of the school year at Hawthorne, and he would prefer to move it up to speed up the process next summer. The abatement includes tiles, baseboard and patches of roofing.
Darwood said the district will begin abating asbestos at Sweet Home Junior High in the middle of this month and begin demolition around the end of the month.
Following that, remodeling and construction will begin at the junior high. That project is funded by a $4 million bond with $4 million in matching funds from the state along with money saved in the district’s Long-Term Maintenance Fund.
At Hawthorne, Darwood reported that card-locks are functional, and the district is finishing installation of a new video and intercom system.
At Sweet Home High School, the district is moving forward with plans to install new sound equipment in the main gym and lighting in the auditorium, Darwood said. The district is wrapping up details for sound equipment in the auditorium as well.
Present at the board meeting were board members Jenny Daniels, Jim Gourley, Jason Van Eck, Mike Reynolds, Chairman Jason Redick and Brown. Carol Babcock, Angela Clegg and Chanz Keeney were absent.
In other business, the board:
– Accepted the resignation of Babcock, who represents the Crawfordsville area. She is moving out of the district boundaries.
“I have enjoyed serving on the board for three-plus years and feel fortunate and honored to have had this opportunity,” Babcock said in her resignation letter.
“I have seen Sweet Home School District surge forward in programs, initiatives and facilities due in large part to the cooperative releationship between the Board of Directors, the superintendent, the employees and the community. The future looks bright for our students.”
– Awarded the Golden Shoe to Holley School for posting the highest attendance numbers among Sweet Home schools in September.
Holley had an attendance rate of 97.41 percent, the highest that Yahraes said he has seen to date in a Sweet Home school. This is his third school year in Sweet Home.