Okaw roof, VCHS track projects approved

During its first virtual meeting, the Vandalia Board of Education on Tuesday approved bids for two substantial building projects.

Meeting via a YouTube channel, the board voted to accept the low bids for the replacement of a portion of the roof and heating and air-conditioning units at the Okaw Area Vocational Center and the resurfacing of the high school track.
The $244,064 from DE Martin Roofing of Lebanon was accepted for the Okaw project.
It was slightly below the $245,000 estimate prepared by WRF Engineers (Mark Ritter) and one of three bids received by the district.
Joiner Sheet Metal and Roofing of Highland submitted a bid of $271,664, and D7 Roofing of New Baden submitted a bit of $271,980.
The $104,777 bid from Byrne and Jones of Bridgeport, the only one received by the district for the track resurfacing, was also approved.
The estimate prepared by WRF Engineers was $90,000, and Ritter said the bid was higher than the estimate because the “eastern 50 feet of the pole vault runway was in a lot worse shape than we anticipated.”
Also at the meeting:
• The board approved the transfer of Michele Hoyle from Gear Up/Pace instructor to third grade teacher at Vandalia Elementary School; the retirement of Jamie Michel, a VCHS teacher, at the end of the 2024-25 school year; and the retirement of Larry Emerick, VES assistant principal and special education coordinator, at the end of the current school year.
• During her report, Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Garrison said that there is a delay in state payments to the district, due to the “financial instability of the state,” and that the district is currently owed $285,607.47 this fiscal year.
Garrison told board members that she will be presenting in May an amended budget that will be acted on in June.
Also, she said that the two building projects approved at Tuesday’s meeting are being funded with sales tax dollars. As of Tuesday, Garrison said, the amount of sales tax dollars received was $388,108.48.
She said a decrease in the sales tax dollars is anticipated due to the state’s shelter-at-home order, with projections calling for decreases to be 17-20 percent.
The district will not know actual reductions until it receives in June the report for March and April sales tax revenues.
• Randy Protz, VCHS principal, reported that Joey Daniken, National Honor Society sponsor, has notified those students who have been selected into the society, and that there is the possibility of holding an induction ceremony in the fall.
• Stacy Mesnard, VES principal, commended the district staff for its work in preparing for remote learning.
She praised the district’s technology people – CJ Schmidt, Kent Kistler and Julie Lay – for preparing the district.
Mesnard said she has spoken with people in other school districts and that compared to those other districts, “we were really ahead of the game in getting ready for this.”
• Nick Casey, OAVC director, reported that construction of this year’s building trades house “should be ready under the normal time frame,” noting that the class instructor, Scott Wright, had gotten the project ahead of schedule prior to the shelter-at-home order.