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Harlem U.D. 122 board approves chiller replacement, graduation venue and Vision 2030 resolution
Summary
The Harlem U.D. 122 Board of Education voted Monday to award a $343,170 contract to Miller Engineering to replace a chiller at Ralston Elementary, approved a graduation venue contract and passed a resolution supporting Vision 2030, along with routine treasury, travel and facility items.
The Harlem U.D. 122 Board of Education approved a set of consent items Monday that included awarding a $343,170 bid for a chiller replacement at Ralston Elementary, approving the rental contract for graduation at the BMO Harris Bank Center on May 24, 2025, and adopting a resolution supporting the Vision 2030 education improvement initiative.
Why it matters: The chiller award funds a capital improvement for an elementary school building, the graduation contract secures a venue and date for the class ceremonies, and the Vision 2030 resolution signals the district’s public support for statewide education recommendations that could shape future policy and funding.
The board awarded the chiller replacement contract to Miller Engineering for $343,170. Josh Schram, director of business and operations, told the board the insurance would cover replacements in this situation and that, if approved, staff would order the equipment and “get that ordered ASAP to make sure it gets installed.” The board later voted to approve the bid; the motion passed with all recorded members voting in favor.
The board also approved an agreement with ASM Rockford to rent the BMO Harris Bank Center for graduation on Saturday, May 24, 2025. The district posted the contract; the base fee recorded in the meeting materials was $3,500, with additional hourly charges to be applied as specified in the contract.
Under the consent agenda the board: accepted the November and December 2024 treasurer’s reports; declared certain items at Harlem High School in Windsor surplus (listed as “mob carts” and books in the meeting); approved facility-use requests including a high-school-related Easter egg hunt; and approved several student travel requests, including three wrestlers headed to sectionals and other previously submitted trips.
During accounts-payable review, business staff reported total payables for the period but the transcript contains inconsistent figures. The meeting audio/text reported $556,781.59 as the period total and then provided a fund-by-fund breakdown (education fund $405,565.73; tour fund $1,508; operations and maintenance $84,059.89; transportation $36,280.22; capital projects $5,170.12; Life Safety $24,185.63). The transcript later includes an apparent transcription error showing a much larger total ($556,507,181.59); the board record reviewed at the meeting did not clarify that discrepancy on the record.
A board member raised the recurring practice of cell-phone stipends during the accounts-payable discussion, asking whether the district should continue paying small monthly stipends. Staff said the practice had evolved (staff used to be issued district phones and later consolidated to stipends) and that business services would follow up with more detail.
Votes at a glance: - Award bid: Ralston Elementary chiller replacement (Miller Engineering) — motion passed (recorded votes: Mister Smith: yes; Missus Hastings: yes; Missus Meeks: yes; Mister Sterling: yes; Mister Thompson: yes; Mister McKnight: yes; Missus Carlson: yes). Outcome: approved. - Agreement with ASM Rockford (BMO Harris Bank Center) for graduation, 05/24/2025 — approved (consent vote). Outcome: approved. - Resolution declaring surplus property at Harlem High School (Windsor) — approved (consent vote). Outcome: approved. - Acceptance of November and December 2024 treasurer’s reports — approved (consent vote). Outcome: approved. - Approval of student travel requests (including Model UN, sectionals, baseball jamboree) — approved (consent vote). Outcome: approved. - Facility-use requests (including high school Easter egg hunt) — approved (consent vote). Outcome: approved. - Resolution supporting Vision 2030 education improvement policy — approved (consent vote). Outcome: approved.
What’s next: Board members asked business services for follow-up on phone-stipend practices and confirmed staff will proceed with ordering and scheduling installation if the chiller award is finalized. Several consent items were adopted as a block; individual voters spoke only to a few items.
