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School Board makes final decisions on referendum projects
North Crawford
North Crawford

NORTH CRAWFORD - The North Crawford School Board acted to approve the final projects to be financed with funds from the November 2022 referendum at their meeting on April 19.

Starting with $4,500,000, the board approved projects to cost $3,572,044, leaving $818,836. Phase one and phase one add-on projects approved included re-roofing the building, exterior window replacement, exterior upper wall re-placement, bathroom additions, shower renovations, upper level window re-placement, repaving the north, west and south parking lots with concrete, replacing the upper windows, upgrading paving to concrete, and parking lot striping.

Then, they made decisions about Phase Two Round One projects, spending another $206,916 for daycare renovations, courtyard grading and drainage, north parking lot utilities, northwest playground grading and drainage, theater rigging upgrade, and owner estimated soft costs. This left them $611,920 to allocate toward remaining projects still on the table.

At the April 19 meeting, the board voted to move forward with flooring replacements, library renovations, a greenhouse construction, maintenance shed renovations, a new storage shed, and elementary classroom casework.

After all the actual and estimated costs of approved projects are taken into account, $133,442 remains of the original $4.5 million. In addition, the financials do not include $100,000 in revenue earned from interest, $120,000 in construction contingency earmarks, and any potential savings from other projects.

Projects approved

Resinous (epoxy) flooring projects in the building be completed by Protective Coating Specialists out of Appleton will include ($189,606):

• middle school hallways

• middle school bathrooms

• cafeteria

• area outside of the Performance Center

• Commons

• Commons bathrooms

• grind and refinish the existing epoxy flooring in the front hallway

Library renovations

Library renovation projects planned will include ($87,491):

• new flooring - install new carpeting and a couple areas of luxury vinyl tile - work performed by Willow Creek Flooring out of Sauk City

• paint - new paint on all walls - work performed by local resident Bonnie Murphy

• new circulation desk - built and installed - work performed by New Furnishing

• book shelves, tables, seating, etc.

• storage/charging station - new upper and lower cabinets installed to store and charge variety of STEM devices

Greenhouse addition

The Greenhouse costruction will include the following components ($100,208):

• purchase new 24' x 50' Greenhouse Kit - kit sold by Greenhouse Megastore

• installation - installed by local contractors Aaron Hooker, Mike Olson, and Brian Swiggum

• site preparation and drainage - Showen Excavating

• concrete pad/walkway - Doug Heisz

• utilities - work performed by local HVAC and electrical contractors

Maintenance Shed Renovation

The maintenance shed renovation will include the following components ($23,500):

• renovating the upper maintenance shed to allow climate control and additional storage

• insulate walls and ceiling, replace garage doors - local contractor Aaron Hooker

• utilities - work performed by local HVAC and electrical contractors

Elementary casework

The elementary casework project will include the following components ($77,673):

• replacing upper and lower cabinets, countertops, and sinks in all elementary classrooms

• new upper and lower cabinetry - Foggy Bottoms out of Muscoda

• new countertops - Foggy Bottoms out of Muscoda

• new sinks and fixtures - Johnson's One Stop

• installation - local contractor Aaron Hooker

Gymnasium floors

The gymnasium floors repair project is not a project being paid for out of referendum funds. The small gym floor has water damage due to a tear in the roof last summer.  The large gym floor has damage due to a malfunction in our HVAC control system. 

As of Monday, the district is still unsure whether any or part of either gymnasium floor repair will be covered by property insurance.  Either way, the district will need to move forward and have both floors repaired this summer. 

The costs will either be covered by insurance, or will be taken out of the district's fund balance.  If it is covered by insurance, the only cost to the district will be their deductible.

The work will be performed by Stalker Sports Floors out of New London.

Small gymnasium ($59,725): the project will include replacement of a 29' x 50' area with new maple boards, sanding the entire floor, repainting lines, and finishing the floor with an oil-based finish.

Large gymnasium ($25,500): the project will include sanding the entire floor, repainting lines, and finishing the floor with oil-based finish.

In other business

In other business, the board:

• heard from Elementary Principal Amanda Killeen that they are almost done with Forward Testing, with results expected in August

• approved staff for summer school, which will run from May 22 through June 9, from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

• heard from Middle School/High School Principal Rob Sailer that they have received ACT scores for students who took the test in March, with initial review of the results looking promising

• heard from Director of Student Services Cara Wood that her team had been busy proctoring standardized testing, and with IEPs to be completed by the end of the school year

• heard from Food Service Director Jen Kapinus that she has been preparing ethnic meals, and kids could have their ‘passports’ stamped after eating the meal

• approved a donation of $500 to the Village of Gays Mills Swimming Pool.

Closed session

North Crawford School Board actions following a meeting in closed session included:

• approval of Elementary Special Education teacher Emily Powell's request for an unpaid leave of absence for the 2023-24 school year

• approval of the resignation of Rita Hines, Food Service;  Mendy Biege, Speech and  Language Pathologist;  Jamie Bearrows, Reading Specialist and Instructional Coach;  Eileen Robel, High School Math Teacher (retirement)

• approval of hiring Amy Vetterli, 1st Grade Teacher;  and Lisa Stoehr, Food Service.