During Wednesday night’s Emporia board of education meeting the board heard updates on summer projects happening throughout the district.
Village Elementary School will see a newly created computer lab, modified cabinets in the kitchen for a new steam table and additional circuits for hot carts and milk coolers.
The main and cross halls at Emporia High School have been painted, and the dock has been scraped and painted.
Both Village and EHS projects happened in June.
Several schools also saw changes in July.
Logan Avenue Elementary School created a new computer lab in the library, created a classroom out of literacy library, created a classroom out of a custodial storage area and added circuits for additional hot carts and milk coolers.
Walnut Elementary School created a computer lab on the stage area, modified three classrooms by removing carpet, repainted the nurse’s office, removed the large carpet wall in the gym and repainted the gym, and created a handicap chair lift in gym and added a ramp to the southeast hall so handicap door ramp can be used.
At Kansas Avenue, stairways and rooms were painted and new tile was installed in the kitchen and in an upstairs classroom.
At Maynard, the children’s bathrooms were painted, along with the staff bathroom.
At EHS the red locker banks were removed and prep work was done for new black lockers in the varsity locker room.
At Emporia Middle School, Midweek Combs Construction will pour the pad. Bob Fancher, director of maintenance, said due to the high temperatures it may be poured at midnight.
Fancher said several projects have been contracted out. They include:
• Athco to remove and reinstall playground from Lowther South Intermediate School to Riverside and Logan;
• A new privacy fence will be installed around the Dumpsters at EHS and Village;
• At Kansas Avenue the tile in the girls bathroom and in another upstairs classroom will be replaced.
Fancher said a team of five people have been packing surplus equipment into Lowther South so the district can sell it. Fancher also said it took Thomas Transfer and himself 58 hours to move Lowther South classes to the elementary buildings.
At the meeting the board also:
• Received an offer from the Lowther Building Fund, which is purchasing the Lowther buildings, for fire extinguishers. The Lowther Building Fund offered $30 for newer fire extinguishers, of which there are 32;
• Approved a golf contract with the City of Emporia for use of the Municipal Golf Course for the Emporia High School golf teams. The cost to the district is $1,625;
• Accepted a donation of 120 backpacks from Clint Bowyer’s 79 fund of the Emporia Community Foundation. The bags, which will be full of supplies, are valued between $4,800 and $5,000;
• Accepted a Juvenile Justice Authority grant worth $46,667 to fund the YouthFriends program;
• Accepted two Kansas 21st Century Community Learning Centers Continuation Grants for Emporia Middle School. The grants will allow EMS to continue with after school programs for the upcoming year. The grants are for $100,000 and $9,711;
• Renewed e-Suite software, costing $29,999.88;
• Accepted a donation from the Logan Avenue parent teacher organization for $3,660 for new playground equipment and installation;
• Appointed Mike Helbert, school board member, to the Emporia Recreation Commission board;
• Heard a first reading of the Emporia public schools athletic handbook for 2011-12. The handbook will be brought to the board again for a second reading;
• Approved staff handbooks for 2011-12.