BROKEN BOW—In addition to conversations surrounding COVID-19 and hearing from Dr. Julie Lindstrom on Monday night, the Broken Bow School Board also discussed the pending preschool project.
Whether or not to move forward with Chief Construction taking bids for the preschool addition was on the meeting agenda for Monday night. Discussion by board members included concerns of spending money right now amidst the coronavirus prevention measures and economic impacts.
Treasurer J.B. Atkins and Gerald Pirnie expressed that they would not feel comfortable voting on both the preschool and the track with all of the current uncertainties. Making the preschool the priority was the general consensus and the board voted four to two to move forward with bids.
“We approved Chief to come in and do some bids on the preschool as you guys know before we had BD come in and do some bids before and those bids came in much higher than we anticipated (Click here to see August 20 story) so talking to Chief over the past six months they feel like they can get those bids in the area we were looking for initially, that $1.9 million to build the addition on to the north side of North Park,” Superintendent Darren Tobey said on March 18 in a Public Affairs interview with KCNI.
Superintendent Tobey said he expects to start receiving some bids from Chief within the next month. The track was not on Monday’s agenda and no decisions were made.
The board approved new hires Carlie Wells to teach weights and coach football and Candice Dollar to teach high school English. The board also approved the resignations of Jo Ward and Jenna Pritchard.
Superintendent Tobey said there are a lot of tough decisions to make right now but the safety of Broken Bow’s community, students, and staff is the priority. Broken Bow Public Schools are closed until March 30 at which time the district will reevaluate.
“Sometimes it’s good to take a step back and let things calm down and see where they lay before we make any big decisions. So I think that’s the mindset we’re thinking about right now of being courteous to everybody else that’s out there. We understand that people are going through a lot right now and we don’t want to be the person that piles on if that’s the case, but yet we want to continue to improve our district, improve our academics and our activities facilities as well,” Mr. Tobey said.
Teachers are working on E-learning platforms and learning packets and the goal is to keep kids reviewing skills for the time being. A grab and go lunch program is also underway.
The next work session will be on April 6 and the next meeting for the Broken Bow School Board will be on April 20, both at 7:30 p.m.
