The South Central Middle School bathroom renovation that is part of the $2.8-million upgrade of the school is complete and ready for the start of school this week.
That was the update from Superintendent Kerry Herdes at Thursday night’s South Central School Board meeting.
“Bathrooms renovations was our push to get them done by Institute Day. So they are finished. They were nearly finished at the end of July, but then we had to clean and do some touch up things and make adjustments. But they are done.”
Herdes says he’s very pleased with how the new restrooms look. He reports there will be a slight delay in completing the rest of the project which includes a hallway to join the main building to the gym, other gym improvements, and the addition of bathrooms. Herdes says the completion date is now September 30th, which is after the first basketball games.
“They are going to work with us. If we can’t go into the front doors, we can use the ramp area we are building now it will be enclosed and ready to go. All we are talking about some doors, glazing and some windows maybe not being in on time. It will be built and then be ready to use. People can see what we have done, we just may have to take a little bit different route into the gym.”
Herdes is now looking towards the district’s next project which is the reroofing of the old section of the grade school building. He’s hoping for a mid-September bid opening so the work can possibly be completed before winter so new rooftop HVAC units can be installed. Herdes says a number of other roofing projects will follow.
The board approved it’s tentative 2023-2024 budget. Right now Herdes is projecting an $844,000 surplus, but he warned it is still early. The district is receiving an additional $62,000 in state aid under the equitable funding bill. Herdes once again believes the district is in line to receive just under $1-million in corporate personal property replacement taxes.
South Central is currently projecting an enrollment increase of 25 students, a number that could go higher. The grade school is projecting an enrollment of 319, an increase of 21. The middle school enrollment is expected to grow 14 to 150. The high school right now is projecting a loss of ten students to 202. However, that number includes 15 new students. A number of students from last year are currently being contacted to see if they had missed the registration days.
The board named Dan Heistand as pro-temp secretary. He replaces board member Dena Hoffmann who recently passed away.
