RO School board approves bid for Inman roofing project

The Red Oak School Board is proceeding with a plan to do a partial re-roofing project at Inman Elementary.
The Red Oak School Board met in special session May 9, opening with a public hearing on the proposed plans, specifications, form of contract, and estimated costs of the partial re-roofing project.
Superintendent Ron Lorenz said the project would involve the removal of 9,500 square feet of the existing roof, and replacement materials, edging, and flashing. The portion of the roof being replaced was installed in 2001.
“The contract stipulates the work would be completed by Oct. 1, and there is a $15,000 bonus to the contractor if the project was completed by Aug. 15,” Lorenz said.
The district received two bids for the project. No oral or written comments were received, and the public hearing was closed.
The board then moved to discussion and approval of the Inman Elementary partial re-roofing plans and specifications. The plans and specifications were unanimously approved.
The board also approved a form of contract and the estimated cost projections for the project, roughly $275,000, then approved a letter of agreement with Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture for design services and coordination of the bid process for the project, at a cost of $12,000. Lorenz said it should have been put on the agenda earlier, as some of the services had already been performed, and Alley Poyner would also provide administrative services during the project.
The last board action was to award the Inman Elementary partial re-roofing contract to Elevate Roofing.
“The good news is, the low bid came in at roughly $55,000 less than the estimate, so that’s exciting,” commented Lorenz.
The board approved awarding the contract to Elevate Roofing for $219,228.
The board also discussed a partnership with Green Hills Area Education Agency in hosting the Rising Hope Academy. Lorenz said the location was perfect for them, and they already had a Red Oak AEA office, and the district’s centralized location would be easy for other districts to reach.
Lorenz added the Rising Hope Academy is a specialized program that serves students with challenging behaviors and mental health concerns.
“This is something the Green Hills AEA has done in Clarinda for several years. They’re making a change there, and this is an opportunity for us. We’d like to use the portable classroom unit that we procured last year,” said Lorenz. “We’ve been doing work with declining enrollment, and while we’ll have to do some doubling up, we feel we can repurpose that room and provide some very helpful supports for some of our challenging kids.”
Lorenz said the program would be limited to eight students, with around four of the students being from Red Oak. Lorenz said hosting the program provided a number of benefits.
“Green Hills would bring a behavior specialist, a teacher, and a paraprofessional that they hire. They would run the program in that facility, and we would be able to piggyback on specialized training. Also, if we have students not in the program but in need of social skills instruction, they would be allowed to do that. Principal Jane Chaillie believes the program is possible, and the value we get from having those services so close would outweigh any inconvenience they have with the classrooms,” advised Lorenz. “There are many requests for these kinds of services and it will fill up. With them working along with us, it puts us in a good position to just access the services. I don’t know if we’d get any preferential treatment, but the arrangement and location would help us.”
Lorenz closed his comments by saying both he and Chaillie are both on board with proceeding with partnering with the AEA for the program. No action on the item was taken, and Lorenz said his comments were informational only.
In other business, the board:
• Approved a request for School Beyond School students to travel to Omaha, Neb., and visit the Henry Doorly Zoo May 20.
• Approved the hire of Jesse Taylor as P.E. teacher at Inman Elementary for the 2023-24 school year.
• Approved the hire of Amy McClintock as special education teacher at Inman Elementary for the 2023-24 school year.
• Approved the hire of Ron DeVries as varsity head boys basketball coach for the 2023-24 school year.
• Approved the hire of Alec Ruskell as varsity assistant softball coach for the 2023-24 school year.
• Approved the resignation of Bevin Anderson as English-language arts teacher at the junior/senior high school, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
• Approved the resignation of Stuart Longsworth as English-language arts teacher at the junior/senior high school, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
• Approved the resignation of Mary Carlson as math teacher at the junior/senior high school, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
• Approved the resignation of Ashley Gacke as fifth grade teacher at Inman elementary, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
• Approved the resignation of Heather Hall as district nurse, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
• Approved the resignation of Coleman Mullenix as physical education teacher, varsity head girls basketball coach, assistant varsity girls track coach, student council sponsor, and weight training sponsor at the junior/senior high school, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
• Approved the resignation of Dillon Wiser as assistant junior high football coach and assistant junior high wrestling coach, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
• Approved the resignation of Taylor Wood as instrumental music teacher at the junior/senior high school, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
• Approved the resignation of Tristan Johnson as head varsity boys tennis coach, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
• Approved the resignation of Nikki Rengstorf as junior class prom sponsor, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
• Approved the resignation of Ron DeVries as varsity assistant boys basketball coach, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.  
Lorenz said there were a number of hirings and resignations on the list, but the district is working hard to get open positions filled.