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Kaegebein project on track, despite obstacles by
Karen Keefe
“It had to be original with the building,” Perry said as he watched a crew from Nature’s Way extract the tank on Tuesday. Kaegebein opened in 1952. Contamination Noted “They’re going to cut the top off, clean it, then they’ll drag it out,” he said. Gehring said there was contaminated material to remove, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.” “It’s not a big problem,” Perry said. “It’s just an expense we didn’t anticipate.” The Kaegebein work began in June and has included asbestos abatement, new floors, enlarging and paving the front parking lot, repaving the back lot, new sidewalks, a new roof, new ceilings in some rooms and updating the heating and air-conditioning systems. Gehring said there was $2 million worth of work done in the past eight to 10 weeks, representing about 20,000 hours of work. Project’s Surprises “We did have some real unknowns,” he said. Besides the tank, the surprises included no sub-base under the concrete floors nor under the front parking lot. Gehring said in his report, “With these significant unknown conditions, the project has been managed well by all involved parties and there has been little impact to the construction schedule. This is a credit to all involved.” Change orders comprised about 6 percent of the contract amount. Tax Rate Finalized In other news: *The district was able to maintain a stable tax rate of $35.64 per $1,000 of assessed value, a zero increase over last year. This was made possible, even though the tax levy was $27,000 less than projected, by employing state aid. Middle School Class Size *Superintendent Thomas Ramming told the board that student numbers were up in Connor Middle School. The sixth-grade enrollment reached 250, with a possibility of five more students. This would bring potential class size to 29 in science and social studies classes, although the guideline is 28. Ramming said there was no additional teaching position in the budget to alleviate the higher class size, although funds could be shifted from other areas. As to the wisdom of adding a middle school teacher: “With the constraints we face this year and next, it is not our recommendation at this time,” Ramming told the board. If the five additional students come on board, average class size would be 28.3. Board member Geri Schopp said she supported Ramming’s recommendation not to hire another teacher. The whole board reached consensus in maintaining the current faculty size. Public Comment Increased New Board President Michael Dallessandro suggested going from one “Voice of the People” section to two, during regular school board meetings. The first public comment period, at the beginning of each meeting, would be restricted to items on the agenda. The second could be for more general comments and would come at the end of the meeting. Schopp reminded board members that four years ago, the board had dropped from two to one public comment period because the practice was becoming counterproductive. She said some of the public comments crossed the line, with inappropriate criticism of board members. Those who wanted to be vocal stated their case both at the first and the second Voice of the People, she said. “You’ll go through it all over again – that’s why we went to one,” she observed. In the back and forth between the board, a consensus emerged and a change was approved to reinstitute two opportunities for public comment, with the provisos that speakers be limited to three minutes and that the policy would be up for a mid-year review, “Of course, we do want to hear what the public wants to say,” Dallesandro said. ‘Limit the Blasting’ Board member David Goris said going to one comment period was designed to “limit the blasting the board was taking.” However, he noted, “Most people are reasonable, rational and community-minded.” The point was made by several board members that their response to public comment should be to listen and take under advisement, rather than engaging in dialogue with speakers. Ramming said for his part, if there’s a “specific question and I can get a factual answer, yes I would answer.” Dallessandro said members of the public should realize that “each person at the table is one of their neighbors. If everybody keeps that in mind, I think it will be a very productive year.” He also said that when budget committees are formed, these could include some of those who have been critics of the budget process. Field Trips OK’d The board also approved two field trips at no additional cost to the district. These include: •The Connor Middle School Grade 8 French class, who will taking an overnight field trip to Quebec City, Canada, from Thursday, May 4 to Sunday, May 7, 2006. •The Grand Island Junior Varsity and Varsity boys soccer teams, which will be particpating in the Honeoye Falls-Lima High School Soccer Invitational from Friday, Sept. 9 to Saturday, Sept. 10 of this year, with parent transportation and chaperones. Next Meetings The next meetings are: •Monday, Aug. 29, Board and Superintendent Retreat, 6 to 9 p.m. in the District Office. There will be no public business transacted at that meeting. •Tuesday, Sept. 6, regular business meeting, 7 p.m., Middle School Little Theater. •Monday, Sept. 19, workshop, 7 p.m., Middle School Little Theater. •Monday, Oct. 24, regular business meeting, 7 p.m., Middle School Little Theater. |
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