W-MU students want a soccer program

BY KARYN SPORY

Mt. Pleasant News

WINFIELD ? Winfield-Mt. Union students want to play soccer.

During the W-MU School Board meeting on Wednesday, six students and four parents stood before the board, requesting soccer be added to the district, in some manner.

Amy Krieger, a parent, said 14 students had signed up, expressing interest in playing soccer. ?As far as we understand, the only barrier to sharing a soccer program with Columbus-Junction is that we need a driver to transport students to and from practice,? she said. Krieger and the other three parents attending the meeting said they would be willing to drive the students to practice, if the district could not find a driver.

Krieger reminded the board the district has a shared wrestling program with Columbus-Junction, so it should work for soccer.

?I just want to say, there are some of us (students) that want to play that are not involved in anything (extracurricular). I thought it would be really cool (for us to have),? said student Pearl Krieger-Cobel.

?We hope you say yes instead of saying no,? said Krieger of the students? plea.

Superintendent Jeff Maeder said during his report that at this time, he recommends the board wait on adding soccer to the athletic roster. ?It is based on a transportation issue. But from what we heard tonight, if that wants to be a consideration moving forward, I?d be open to it,? he said.

The board took no action on the issue.

The board also received a presentation from Ric Parades, with the Iowa Construction Advocate Team (ICAT), a partnership between Estes Construction and the Iowa Associations of School Boards.

For years, W-MU school boards have been discussing building renovations and repairs. More recently, the current board has reviewed past studies and noted the need of a new HVAC system and building additional classrooms in order to remove the temporary classrooms, which board members say have out lasted their lifespan.

Parades said ICAT could prepare a full-service study, assessment and plan for the district. Parades said the project would begin with a facility assessment. ?We come in and tell you where you?re at now and you tell us where you?d like to be. Then we start to develop that,? he said.

With the assessment, three engineers would come into the school and look at it from head to toe. Four to six weeks later, Parades would present the board with a master plan, detailing what needs to be fixed and what projects the district would like to see done. The plan would include project cost estimates as well as helping the district establish priorities on projects. ?We look at similar projects to see what we can bundle so you get the biggest bang for your buck,? he said.

Estes and ICAT also utilizes an integrated project delivery system, which brings the district, designer and construction team together from the start. Parades said this optimizes results and reduces waste, and hopefully the need for pricy change orders by allowing all parties to be collaborative through each phase of the project.

Parades said one of the great things about ICAT is they are an advocate for the district, making sure what is being done is best for the school.

Parades said the cost to do a basic assessment would be between $7,500 to $8,000. For an MEP ? mechanical, electrical and plumbing assessment ? the cost would run $2,000 to $2,500 more.

Following Parades? presentation, Maeder said he liked the idea of ICAT being an advocate for the school and helping the district create a priority list.

?I feel good about a group that works with ISB,? said High School Principal Dave Edwards. ?And his presentation made more sense to me than everything else I?ve heard.?

Elementary Principal Gabe Wylder said his only concern was spending more money on a study, as the district has done several before. He wondered what kind of a project cost the district would need to incur in order to counter-balance spending nearly $10,000 on another study.

In the end, the board decided to request a proposal from ICAT.

During the meeting, the board also approved a sharing agreement with Wapello for an English Language Learners instructor. The agreement states W-MU will reimburse Wapello for the time the instructor spends working with W-MU staff and students. Reimbursement will be based on the instructor?s current per diem rate of $23.45. W-MU will also reimburse Wapello for any transportation expenses related to the instructor working with W-MU?s staff and students. Wapello will bill W-MU on a quarterly basis. The agreement will begin at the start of the second semester of the 2015-16 school year, and will end at the end of the school year. The contract is renewable if both districts agree to continue.

In other business, the board awarded the bid from Nolte, Cornman and Johnson, P.C., to do the audit for 2016 ? 2018.

The next meeting of the W-MU school board will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 6 p.m., in the media center.