NL School Board talks summer projects

By Bryce Kelly, Mt. Pleasant News

NEW LONDON ? With the final weeks of school winding down, New London School District is looking to the summer months to knock out a few smaller work projects at Clark Elementary.

As discussed by the New London School board during a special session on Tuesday, at the forefront of the to-do list is the repaving of the Clark Elementary School playground and parking lot, and replacing the swing set. According to superintendent, Chad Wahls, the pavement in those areas needs some TLC.

The board agreed, saying that with the district having money in the budget to do the project, it would be prudent to do so over the summer.

?Six, 12-foot high, heavy duty swings run around $3,000 with shipping,? said Wahls. ?By the time you cement them in and all of that, we are looking at around $5,000 for swings.?

In regard to the repaving work itself, the board will have to seek bids for that project, which they agreed to do.

In other summer project list items, Wahls also said that there needs to be some work done in the elementary classrooms in regard to refurnishing classrooms, and adding new shelving and cabinetry space. While not all classrooms will be done at once, the board agreed that those rooms could be worked on over a period of time as the budget allows.

Looking even farther ahead into the future, school board member, Travis Benz, said the district should be looking at the costs to replace the high school gym floor and possibly the high school/middle school roof.

?I know that our gym floor gets a lot of wear and tear, and it?s getting up there in age,? said Benz. ?I also know that replacing gym floors can be pricey and are pretty labor-intensive?I know we can?t do anything about it now, but a year or so down the road we may need to, so we need to keep that in the back of our minds.?

Finally, the board turned to two minor personnel items to consider, including the resignation of Damon Loyd as assistant high school softball coach, and the appointment of Jenna Watts as the volunteer high school softball coach. Both were approved.

The next regular New London School Board meeting will be held on Monday, May 15, at 7 p.m., in the New London School District Board Room.