Elk Mound school construction “on track”
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — In spite of some setbacks, the construction projects authorized by a $15 million referendum question approved in April of 2020 in the Elk Mound school district are “on track.”
Contractors currently are working on the old middle school gymnasium and have found water in the floor, which means the floor will have to be replaced, said Eric Wright, district administrator.
Wright gave a construction update to the Elk Mound Board of Education at the February 21 meeting.
Work on the old weight room at Elk Mound High School is currently on hold because contractors are unable to obtain certain materials, he said.
One of the frustrations of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been supply chain problems and the availability and cost of certain construction materials.
Even though there have been setbacks, the construction schedule is still “on track,” Wright said.
Work will begin on the locker rooms this spring, and during the summer, work will be completed on the swimming pool at Elk Mound High School, on the technical education room at the high school and on the middle school and high school roofs, he said.
COVID-19
As of the February 21 school board meeting, there was one positive case of COVID-19 in the school district, Wright said.
For three weeks during the height of the most recent surge in cases, however, the Elk Mound school district struggled to stay open because of staffing shortages, he said.
Staff members at Elk Mound went “above and beyond” so that the schools were still able to remain open, Wright said.
Antigen tests are now available on-site, and testing on site is done on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, he said.
Students and staff who have been infected with COVID-19 can return to school on day six if they do not have any symptoms, Wright said.
ESSER II
As of the end of January, the Elk Mound school district has spent $90,000 in round two of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER) that are part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relieve and Economic Security Act (CARES), Wright said.
The money has been spent on hiring full-time substitute teachers, cleaning materials for the custodians at all three schools and on curriculum for math fluency kits, he said.
The money spent was based on a needs assessment. The federal funds are intended to help school buildings remain open during the pandemic, he said.
Other business
In other business, the Elk Mound Board of Education:
• Learned that the legislative scholarship winners are Izzy Hollister for an in-state school, and Keagan Lemler for a technical college.
• Approved an auditor’s contract for the 2021-2022 fiscal year with Clifton Larson Allen LLP.
• Approved a retirement request from bus driver Karla Jenson.
• Approved a resolution requesting property attachment to the Elk Mound Area School District from Ken and Kelly Books to detach from the Eau Claire school district and to join the Elk Mound school district. The Eau Claire Board of Education denied the request. The Books family will now have to decide if they want to appeal to the state Department of Public Instruction. Both school districts must approve the request before property can change from one school district to another.
• Approved additional items on the short-range planning list, including purchasing new snow removal equipment in the form of a brush to clean the sidewalks, a floor scrubber and more Chromebooks.
• Approved service contracts with CESA 10 and CESA 11. One service was dropped from the CESA 11 contract because it has not been used, but the other services remain the same.
• Approved spending up to $10,000 for cyber security threat assessment. Some local school districts have already been affected by cyber security problems, Wright said.
• Approved retirement requests from Kathy Peterson, who teaches at Mound View Elementary, and Chris Hanson, who teaches at Elk Mound Middle School.
Following a closed session, the Elk Mound Board of Education:
• Approved hiring Ashley Burger as a full-time paraprofessional.
• Approved hiring Ryan DeRoeck, a teacher at Mound View Elementary, as the assistant high school track coach.
