Board approves bid for crosswalk, reviews needs assessment
Mario Millonzi, a partner with Upper90, presented information from a needs study completed for the school district during the board of education’s May 19 meeting. (Steve Van Kooten/Courier Press)
By Steve Van Kooten
The Wauzeka-Steuben Board of Education approved several bids during their May 19 meeting.
Interim District Administrator Dr. Gary Albrecht presented a bid from Poellinger Electric, Inc. for the crosswalk project.
Poellinger bid $60,571.66 for the project, according to Albrecht.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will reimburse the district for $38,400 on the project. There is no schedule for when the school would receive the reimbursement.
Albrecht added that the project is supposed to be “substantially complete” by July 11 of this year.
The district could reduce that amount by taking on the concrete work needed for the project. The board discussed several possibilities, including using local workers instead of the contractor for parts of the project.
The board will continue to explore those options even though they approved the bid for the full amount.
According to Albrecht, the board also approved staff contracts for Lori Frailey for elementary music, Jen Beers for special education and Hannah Bunders for an administrative assistant. All three are filling positions created by recent resignations.
The board also approved creating a full-time position for special needs and math intervention.
Needs study
Mario Millonzi, partner member of Upper90, which is an energy-service company based in southern Wisconsin, appeared at the meeting to present some resources derived from a district needs study.
“Our engineers have been combing through the buildings for the last several weeks now,” he said. “We have compiled all of the data into a nice format that is very easy to understand.”
Millonzi presented an online dashboard that organized data about the district’s facilities.
“A few years ago, we developed a little piece of software,” he said. “It collects and hosts the data… So, our engineers go out and collect the data, and they format it in this way and host it online.”
Albrecht later told the Courier Press that the board is working on long- and short-term planning for the school's facilities, both for maintenance and future projects.
"Essentially, the board would like to keep facilities planning at the forefront so that the district doesn't fall behind in maintaining the building or keeping learning environments current," wrote Albrecht.
Millonzi said that the district can use the data to help gauge interest/need for projects and future planning.
“Are these ideas out there? Are people talking about these things? Are we wanting to go down this path?” said Millonzi. “This is a planning tool to help you make decisions about priorities.”
Millonzi referenced some of the district’s goals, including improvements to security, safety, working on career and technical areas and off-campus property owned by the district.
“It’s a nice piece to bring back each month to remind us what we need to address,” said Board Clerk Thomas Martin.
“The next step for this is to have conversations — or working sessions, if you will — where you can start to ask questions and get other stakeholders involved in that long-range planning process,” said Millonzi.
The board did not take any action, but Millonzi said Albrecht invited Upper90 to return next month for further discussion.
In attendance were Nikki Asleson, Martin, Ken Buck, Jessica Bird and Brandon Millin. Albrecht, Principal Tiffany Dums, Director of Special Education Kevin Kilburg, Business Official Jeff Mara and Athletic Director Austin Bunders were also present.
Hires
Jaci Williams, head volleyball coach, and Jen Beers, special education.
Resignations
Russ Atkinson, special education.
Other business
• Approved the school’s FFA chapter to attend the National FFA Convention with Ms. Hermanson. The convention will take place in Indianapolis, Ind., and the students will leave on Oct. 28, returning on Oct. 31.
• Approved a bid from Nagel Fencing for two 16-foot gates along the walking path near the baseball and football fields. Millin said the new gates would be on either side of the football field. Nagel bid $9,500, with the school covering a third of the cost. According to Millin, the Booster Club and the summer recreation program will account for equal portions of the remainder.
