By Crystal Hayduk
The Chelsea School District (CSD) Board of Education (BOE) approved the bid package for summer projects at its meeting on Jan. 24.
Tanner Rowe, project manager for Clark Construction Company, said the plans include interior and site improvements to North Creek and South Meadows Elementary Schools, as well as parking lot replacements at Building 400 and Book St. lots at the Washington Street Education Center (WSEC).
The following contractors and amounts were approved: Phoenix Contractors for carpentry and general trades – $428,500; Niles Construction Services for painting and wall coverings – $44,220; Adrian Mechanical Services for HVAC and plumbing – $137,200; Wiltse Electric Service for electrical – $25,660; Best Asphalt for earthwork and utilities – $188,000; and Asphalt Specialists for asphalt – $270,400. Including a 3% general conditions estimate from Clark Construction of $32,819 and a 7% construction contingency of $76,579, the total approved amount is $1,203,378.
During the first opportunity for public comment, a parent asked when masks will become optional.
Jason Eyster, chairing his first meeting as president of the school board, explained to the audience that direct answers to questions asked may not be provided at the meeting, but he or Superintendent Julie Helber would respond to questions in a timely manner.
During the superintendent and board discussion, Helber addressed the parent’s question indirectly by reminding the board that county K-12 schools are under a mask mandate through the Washtenaw County Health Department’s emergency order.
Later in the meeting, Eyster initiated the discussion of setting protocols for responding to public input questions that are “in compliance with…or pertains to something over which the board has authority.
“Many times, we don’t have the answer, and also this is a public meeting, but not a community meeting, so it’s not appropriate for us to answer,” he said. “Yet, it can feel uncomfortable when an individual asks a question and it is never answered.”
Eyster suggested the board make it a practice that individuals receive a response at a later time. He also said this practice would not negate the appropriate chain of command of teacher or administrator, but are for things in the board’s control to answer.
Trustee Tammy Lehman agreed with the value of the practice. “They took time out of their schedule [to come to a board meeting] and we owe them that,” she said.
During her superintendent’s report, Helber said the COVID-19 response “workload is really tremendous.” Between managing teacher coverage of classrooms, COVID-19 testing of students who require it, reporting cases, identifying contacts, and sending letters, the increased work affects everyone. CSD has been able to remain in-person and no classrooms have closed, she said.
Helber said families are receiving a high volume of COVID-19 exposure letters, but families need to be aware when students have been exposed so they can be diligent in watching for symptoms of illness. She said the county-wide case numbers are now “tipping downward,” with hopes for that trend to continue. (County case data is available at https://www.washtenaw.org/3108/Cases.)
Within the district, COVID-19 case numbers were “pretty high” last week, Helber said, but the latest guidelines allow students to return to school more quickly than before in most cases. (According to the district’s COVID case dashboard, which provides weekly totals and is available at https://www.chelsea.k12.mi.us/, there were 120 new confirmed cases among students and staff during the week ending Jan. 14, and 130 new confirmed cases among students and staff during the week ending Jan. 21.)
Helber, the board, and Michelle Cowhy, assistant superintendent of finance and administrative services had a lengthy discussion about ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds, with additional information since the board meeting on Jan. 10.
Lehman said she would like all district students to receive the benefit of the funds in terms of accelerated learning. Helber said the district has to carefully allocate funds because many of them come with limitations to how they can be used.
To hear the full discussion, a recording of the board meeting is available to view for one month at https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/911?meeting=505871.
In other board news:
The board commended Grant Fanning, assistant football coach, for being nominated for induction into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
During the second opportunity for public input, a parent thanked Vicky Lawrence, executive assistant to the superintendent, for quickly enrolling her child in school when they moved into the district with only a day to spare before school began.
Building administrators presented a variety of small gifts and homemade greetings from the students to board members for Board Appreciation Month.
Upcoming dates:
There will be a special board meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 31 in the board room at the WSEC for the purpose of filling the CSD BOE vacancy.
The next regular board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 in the board room at the WSEC.
There will be no school Feb. 18-21 for Presidents Weekend. Feb. 17 is a half-day for students.
