School board gets updates on projects

The Tea Area School Board met Aug. 14 and received an update on various projects throughout the district.

Operations manager Wayne Larsen said work continues on footings on the high school addition. They are starting to see some mason work. He expects the precast walls will start coming in in mid-September. The goal before winter is to get the roof on so they can work inside. With the construction, all staff and students will be parking on the west side of the high school.

He said the gym floor was done, but the contractor planned to come back around Thanksgiving to fix a couple of flaws. The bleachers are in at the athletic complex and the surface has been laid on the track. Line painting will come in September. Scoreboard upgrades are happening in the high school gym.

The middle school parking lot has been seal coated and repainted. For transportation, they have added another full-time bus route and they are sitting good with drivers.

Building and grounds manager Eric Hanson said that the HVAC work at Legacy Elementary wrapped up this week. They did a lot of painting, particularly in the hallways. They installed six new rooftop units for the HVAC system.

The board approved adjustments to the lunch prices for extra items. The new price for an extra entree will be $1.50 and an extra juice or milk will be 50 cents.

The board declared a number of surplus items that was mostly technology items and some old ceiling fans from Legacy. Business manager Chris Esping said a company in Sioux Falls will buy all of the surplus technology items.

The board approved deleting Policy KD and updating Policy BBDH. Both policies addressed participation in board meetings. The changes just keep one of the policies and addresses public input, public hearing, public input sessions, work sessions and general decorum.

They also approved Policy JFCL, policy on registered sex offenders. The policy comes directly from ASBSD.

The board approved the resignations of Anthony (Andy) Cotroneo as custodian, Kellie Amdahl as mini bus driver, Caitlin Timmerman for Frontier Elementary foodservice, Je’anna Smith as middle school special education paraprofessional, Audrey Arndt as executive assistant to superintendent, Sheri Coy as special education paraprofessional and Heather Myers as special education paraprofessional.

They approved the new hires of Raeyielle McManus as special education paraprofessional, Bethany Hansen as special education paraprofessional, Amy Price as special education paraprofessional, Christie Horsley as special education paraprofessional, Haley Moothart for Venture Elementary foodservice, Darcy Mulloy as special education paraprofessional, Megan Porter as special education paraprofessional, Brent TerHark as van/mini bus driver, Greg Neugebauer as special education paraprofessional, Tamera Adkins for middle school quiz bowl, Ruby Rezac as Legacy foodservice cashier, Jessica Javers for Frontier Elementary foodservice, Lindsey Winters as Venture Elementary foodservice cashier and Gary Stewart for transportation.

Superintendent Jennifer Lowery thanked the Home Builders for a grant for ceiling cord reels and Reliabank for providing the staff breakfast.