The Poplar Bluff R-1 School Board approved a bid for the installation of a new district-wide phone system that includes a unified bell and paging system during its Thursday meeting.
The winning bid, from Blue Sky Technologies, will provide new phone hardware, paging and intercom hardware, and equipment installation.
Initial purchase and installation costs will be $209,271, with annual recurring costs just under $40,000, which is comparable to the district’s current costs for its existing phone services.
Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill called the system “long overdue” and emphasized the benefit of improved communication services both within individual schools and across the district.
Dill also presented the 2022-2023 district calendar, which the board approved. The plan puts the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 22, with the end of the school year scheduled for Thursday, May 25, 2023.
The board approved the application for the Vocational Enhancement Grant and the 50/50 grant for fiscal year 2023.
The Vocational Enhancement Grant reimburses 75% of proposed equipment purchases. The approved proposal would provide new equipment for the cosmetology and health occupations programs at the Career and Technical Center.
The cosmetology proposal is for $19,800, which would provide four microdermabrasion machines, two new teacher laptops and two commercial washer/dryer sets.
The health occupations program cost is $38,900, providing five new medical beds, a new teacher computer and one commercial washer/dryer set.
The 50/50 grant proposes $9,000 for computer maintenance technology, $6,000 for welding and $15,000 for agriculture. The district’s share would be half, or $15,000.
At the district’s request, the board extended permission to seek bids on a number of new maintenance projects, including the demolition of the old shop building at the junior high.
The proposed future building, to be constructed in that location, would include a new band room, two “Project Lead the Way” classrooms and a training room and weight room for athletics.
At approximately 8,000 square feet, the preliminary project cost is estimated at $1.5 million.
Also proposed in the maintenance request is a new concession stand with restrooms and storage, to be constructed on the visitors’ side of the high school stadium. The cost is estimated at $280,000.
The board also approved the middle school health aide position increase from part time to full time due to increased demands with the latest surge in COVID-19 cases. This change increases the time in this position from 29 hours to 35 hours per week.
Taking up a discussion tabled from last month, the board approved the Project Manager At-Risk Fee Structure and Contract with Brockmiller Construction of Farmington for the new district administration building, which will be located in downtown Poplar Bluff.
The contract includes a $5,000 pre-construction fee and total fee of 11% of the final approved budget on the process. This contract will be amended once the design work is complete and costs are finalized. The board will then approve the amended contract.
The board tabled the transportation director & registrar job description changes as presented.