Posted: 8/30/06
No go on football ads or fans on field
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
The board of ISD #299 wonít allow advertising and fans on the football field.
Board members went to the field a half hour before its August 21 meeting to look it over with citizens who were making the requests.
Steve Selness, the only person to show up there, said he hadnít noticed how much slope there was at the edge of the field. He said he was rethinking the idea of fans on the field.
No citizens attended the regular board meeting on either topic.
Members of the Caledonia Touchdown Club had made the request in July to have banners listing business names placed on the fence around the field prior to the games. Supporters felt it would be a way to recognize and thank their sponsors who help the football program.
A motion last Monday to allow the banners failed 6-1, with Jean Meyer voting for the idea.
Several board members spoke against it, repeating arguments that were made last month and also at a similar discussion last year. Charlie Wray said it would set a precedent for other school advertising.
Chuck Schulte said the school has a pretty campus and nice facility as it is. He said that people have given money in the past because they believed in the cause, and did not need recognition.
ìA lot of people arenít going to be able to read it,î Naomi Fruechte said. Barb Hurley asked where it would stop.
The motion to allow fans onto a roped-off portion of the field during games was defeated unanimously. Board members were concerned with damage to the field and track. ìI donít know how youíre going to keep hotdogs and ketchup off the track,î Schulte said. There are safety issues too, he added.
Hurley said that there was discussion about keeping people off the field when it was originally designed.
Schulte thanked the football boosters for the work they do. He said it seemed like the school board were not working with them. He felt the board was doing the best thing for the school district and its citizens.
New kindergarten teacher coming
In other business, the board voted to hire a third kindergarten teacher.
Enrollment in the class is at about 50 students. ìThe numbers are too many for two teachers,î Moriarty said.
Administrators are advertising to fill it and also posting it internally. Moriarty estimated the total cost would be about $44,500.
Jan Klug, who currently teaches kindergarten, told board members that she was thrilled with the decision.
New faces coming
Five new people were hired last week. They are:
ï Jean Hisel, middle/high school counselor, at $40,180.50, which includes 10 extra days. She will also be junior high volleyball coach at $1,570.26.
ï Pamela Fahey, part-time middle/high school special education assistant, at $9.38 per hour.
ï Al Campbell, junior high volleyball coach, at $1,570.26.
ï Cindy Colleran, middle/high school administrative assistant at $10.98 per hour.
ï Judy Von Arx, part-time, job share elementary special education assistant at $9.38 per hour.
The board also accepted four resignations: Patricia Goetzinger, part-time elementary special education assistant; Rita Schulze, part-time special education assistant; Todd Rowenkamp, middle/high school counselor; and Karen Gran, part-time special education assistant.
The board also approved adding 10 additional days to ag teacher Brad Harguthís contract at a cost of $1,212.60.
Energy saving proposal
The board is considering a proposal that could save the energy costs. Michaels Engineering of La Crosse, Wisconsin, is proposing an energy analysis of the middle/high school at a cost of $5,900.
Engineer Jeffrey Ihnen wrote that ìwe believe we can help your district save at least $3,000 per month in pumping energy alone.î
Superintendent Michael Moriarty suggested that representatives from the company come to a board meeting to present their case.
The building is heated and cooled using two geothermal loops. A plate and frame heat exchanger is used to transfer heat to and from the ground loop. Both the ground loop and building loops are served by 100 horsepower pumps. The building loop is constant volume. The ground loop has a variable frequency drive, but is operating at full speed nearly all the time.
Michaels thinks it can reduce pumping energy by modifying piping, converting the system to one loop only, installing variable frequency drives on the pumps, and possibly installing isolation valves on the building heat pumps.
The building is operating at over-capacity, Moriarty said. ìItís pretty common sense that itís going to save you a lot of electricity.î
Other business
ï Coaches meeting: High school principal Ron Helmers gave a 15-minute report on meeting that he holds with coaches. ìWe try to support the coaches as much as we can,î Helmers said. ìThey are human, as are we. Good coaches are at a premium, and we need to support them, but there are expectation.î
Hurley asked if there was a coaches manual that spelled out all the information. She said she had requested one for two years.
Helmers said he would check into that that and develop one if the district doesnít have one.
ï Underpass idea on hold: Moriarty gave board members a copy of a letter from the Houston County Highway Department about installing an underpass under Highway 44/76. Former county engineer Tracey Von Bargen had raised that idea at a meeting in June.
County highway accountant Sheila Schroeder wrote that the school would be responsible for the preliminary design work of $175,000. That is about one-fourth of the total cost, she estimated. The school would also need to purchase the right of way.
Moriarty said there is discussion of a frontage road being installed next to the state highway, so now is not a good time to undertake the project. He said he would leave the project as-is unless he hears otherwise from the board.
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