Final meeting of Fowler, Coffey brings congratulations
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[In a final meeting for two veteran Eldorado school board members, the board congratulated several overachieving students, hired several staff and heard updates on several building improvement programs.
The board also gave approval to a party at the high school cafeteria in honor of longtime board members Wilbur Fowler and Ralph Coffey. The board set a reorganizational meeting for 7 p.m. May 2 during which Fowler and Coffey -- who chose not to seek re-election -- will leave their seats to Preston Justice and Jason Kasiar.
The board agreed to a cake and punch reception for the two 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. May 1 at the high school cafeteria to thank them for their service of periods of decades to the school district.
Superintendent Gary Siebert said this year marks 40 years of his career in school administration and said no other school board members have caused him to rethink his recommendations the way Fowler and Coffey have in the times they have voted no.
"If they didn't agree I would go back and look a second time," Siebert said.
Siebert said the two always had the students and school district at heart.
Congrats
The board heard middle school art teacher Deb Roberts announce two winners of the State Radon Poster Contest sponsored by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, the American Lung Association, the University of Illinois Extension Office and the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago.
Katrina Beaumont placed second in the region with her poster and Tessa Richerson placed first in the region and second in the state.
Beaumont received a $50 savings bond and is invited next month to a reception in Springfield.
Richerson received for her regional award a $50 savings bond and an iPad and for her second place in the state she received a $100 savings bond.
Roberts said a test of her own home revealed she had radon and hired a radon abatement company to fix the problem. She had a personal interest in radon when she learned of the contest. Roberts asked the girls to speak about what they have learned about the harmful gas.
"It's an odorless gas, you can't smell it, can't see it and it all seeps in from the ground. It's the second leading cause of lung cancer and it's very dangerous," Beaumont said.
Richerson said people concerned can buy a kit, mail it away and find out if their dwellings are affected by radon.
Richerson's poster is currently in Washington, D.C. in the national competition.
The board congratulated high school student Haley Kurtek for winning second place in physics at the WYSE competition for the region. Last weekend Kurtek competed in the state competition at University of Illinois.
"Haley didn't bring home a medal, but I'm so proud of her," high school science teacher Diane Beasley said.
The board also congratulated the Eldorado Middle School Cheerleaders who won first place this past weekend in Indianapolis, Ind., in the U.S. Finals national cheerleading competition, as introduced by Middle School Principal Chris Morris.
Vocational building
Remodeling of the vocational building following a fire has revealed the existence of about 5 1/2 feet of asbestos pipe insulation that will need to be abated at a cost of $3,200 by Farmer Environmental Services. The work will begin May 6, a Friday, the actual abatement will be Saturday, final air clearances obtained Sunday and removal of the mini-containment equipment will be Monday morning.
Architect Ed Kerkhover assured the board no students would be exposed to asbestos. Once the work is completed the cleaning company will begin restoring all fire damaged areas.
The board approved allowing Greg Ande to take fire damaged equipment in the shop to be salvaged.
The main cost associated with the work to restore the vocational building to viability is a complete electrical overhaul as an engineer has found the existing electrical system is faulty due to age, improper wiring and deterioration. The total cost will be about $117,000.
"For all practical purposes we are rewiring the entire building at this point," Kerkhover said.
The board voted to amend a Health/Life Safety bond issuance to include the additional costs. Siebert said the board had no choice if the district hoped to continue to use the vocation building for shop and agriculture.
Board member David Bartok suggested Kerkhover also ask the engineer to examine Westbrook Gym to see if it might also require rewiring.
During the meeting, the board:
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Approved a maternity leave request for teacher Kelly Brockett.</li>
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Accepted with regret the resignation of Rick Dempsey as middle school and high school head softball coach.</li>
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Hired Tracy Stafford and Tim Stafford as co-head coaches for high school softball and Mike Lazwell as high school assistant softball coach.</li>
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Hired Richard Ozment as a teacher for the 2011 to 2012 school year.</li>
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Hired Tracy Sizemore as a full-time aide.</li>
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Hired Taryn Hopkins as a substitute bus driver.</li>
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Hired Tina Flynn as a part-time cook for three hours a day.</li>
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Hired Jeanna Weaver as a full-time bus driver, a new category of positions created through an agreement with the teacher's union.</li>
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Created a sick leave bank wherein staff can donate sick days for other staff with serious illnesses to use. The board approved the creation of the system and agreed use it to provide sick days for teacher Emily Lambert who needs 57 1/2 sick days and Chris Harbison who needs 32 sick days.</li>
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Wilbur Fowler has traditionally made the motions to enter executive session and to adjourn the meeting during his multi-decade tenure on the school board. The room was silent with anticipation after board president Alan Hoskins asked if there were any other matters to discuss.
"I make the motion we adjourn," Fowler said for his final time.
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DeNeal receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.
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