Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Facility Maintenance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bigfork principal highlights internships, music revival and site projects; parent raises ceiling-leak concerns
Summary
Principal Ken DeCoster reported internships for six students, PBIS incentives, restored K'12 music, and preliminary plans for a storage building and potential solar array. Parent Juliet Paradise raised ceiling condensation and missing tiles at the elementary; facilities staff said repiping may be required.
At the Sept. 23 board meeting in Bigfork, Bigfork Principal Ken DeCoster highlighted student-focused items and local facility projects and said six high-school students had signed internship agreements with local businesses and would earn credit while gaining work experience. "We had an internship signing, with six of our Bigfork high school students," DeCoster said, and thanked Superintendent Gross for attending part of the event.
DeCoster also described the school's PBIS (positive behavior intervention supports) program using a "Howell" character-acronym, active fall sports and youth programs supported by high-school athletes, PTA donations that helped teachers purchase classroom supplies, and a restored K'12 music program backed by newly reconstituted music boosters.
On facilities, DeCoster reported that a class has staked an area for a proposed storage/edge-storage building adjacent to the parking lot; students will submit soil samples and a materials list and the Bigfork advisory committee has discussed coordinating the shed construction with a district solar-array project to take advantage of trenching and power installation scheduled for next summer. DeCoster warned the shed would be a modest upgrade, not a large industrial structure, and said funding is expected to come from local foundation reserves and booster partnerships.
During public comment, parent Juliet Paradise said she had observed missing ceiling tiles and condensation forming on pipes along the elementary hallway. "We've got students attending school every day who are avoiding drips from the ceiling," Paradise said, and asked whether the district had a plan and timing for repairs. Facilities staff acknowledged ongoing inspections and said the condensation appears to stem from materials in the plumbing contracting and expanding at different rates. Staff said a full resolution would likely require substantial HVAC/repiping work and that stopgap measures are being used while the district develops a plan.
The board discussed coordinating site work with the district's planned solar array and fundraising through the local community foundation to make projects affordable. No formal construction approvals were recorded at the Sept. 23 meeting; staff said project plans and material lists would be submitted for later approval.
