By Austin Williams
The Odin Board of Education Monday night approved the first phase of a contract with GRP Wegman for several renovation projects throughout the district, mostly within the high school. These projects will include the installation of HVAC systems throughout the high school building and gym to replace the existing boiler system, as well as refurbishing of most of the district’s roofs and tuckpointing the exterior brickwork of the high school building. In total, these renovations will cost roughly two million dollars. As time goes on, the board will decide what projects to prioritize in the next stages of the contract, assuming funds are available to continue with them.
One source of immediate spending power for the district will the selling of $500,000 worth of bonds, which will put money into the district’s working cash fund. These bonds, not to be confused with the bonds the district has already begun the process of issuing that will be paid for via a one-cent sales tax, will further increase the district’s available funding to put towards projects. A representative from Bernardi Securities, the company through which the district is issuing the bonds, said that all of the bonds in total could provide the district with $1.6 million of usable cash. A resolution will be brought before the board next month to allow the superintendent to finalize the bond issue.
A report on the annual audit for Odin’s 2021 fiscal year was also presented at the board meeting. Reviewing the audit, a representative from the accounting firm which carried out the audit, Glass & Shuffett, compared the results to those of the previous fiscal year. Odin’s Financial Profile Score dropped from 3.5 (out of 4) to 3.1. The speaker noted that the biggest factor in this change was a decrease in the district’s fund balance to revenue ratio due to increased spending on projects. This moves the Odin school district’s financial profile status from “recognition” to “review.” The audit found that there were no issues with the district’s accounting and that it was meeting all legal requirements with its finances. Superintendent Kimberly Briggs said that the results of the audit were positive, with no unexpected complications.
“I felt it went very well,” she said. “We didn’t have anything out of compliance, nothing unusual. The audit was good. Nice and clean.”
Principal Quinton Marcum noted in his report to the board that many Odin students are temporarily out of school, being required to quarantine to comply with Illinois’ COVID-19 policies. Marcum expressed frustration, describing the quarantines in Odin and other districts as unfortunate but unavoidable given the current legal situation.
“Nobody likes doing quarantine, but it’s kind of… a necessary evil at this point,” he said. “Everybody’s going through the same kind of legal procedures, calling their lawyers, and just making sure that everything they’re doing lines up with what they’re being asked to do. We’re excluding a lot of kids right now, and obviously, nobody likes to do that. It is what it is… We’re trying to follow the rules as well as we can.”
Odin currently has five positive cases of COVID-19 and 65 on quarantine.
In other business, the board narrowly voted to accept a memorandum of understanding with the Odin Education Association, increasing pay and clarifying responsibilities for assistant coaching co-op positions.
The board also approved the initial e-learning program for a term of 3 years. For the current school year, the superintendent will be able to change emergency off days to remote learning days, during which students will be provided learning materials online so that the day can be counted for attendance and not need to be made up later in the year.
New Hires:
- Stacy Roberts, Jr. High Cheer Coach
- Samantha Dix, High School Assistant Cheer (Co-op) Coach
- Caleb Jourdan—Paraprofessional and Assistant High School Basketball (Co-op) Coach
- Cynthia Meredith, Paraprofessional
- Diedra Campbell, Paraprofessional
Resignation:
- Jessie Bryant, Paraprofessional
