By Harold Reutter
harold.reutter@theindependent.com

The classrooms are for West Lawn, Wasmer, Stolley Park and Starr Elementary schools. The total cost for the four classrooms is just over $1.22 million. Installation of the classrooms should be done by Aug. 1.

Part of the reason for the modular classrooms includes growing enrollment, as well as the state mandate to keep K-3 classrooms to fewer than 20 students.

The board also gave its approval to a staffing plan for next school year.

Superintendent Steve Joel noted the board got its first staffing plan in February, when the district anticipated receiving an additional $5.2 million in state aid.

At that point, the district anticipated spending $2.64 million on additional or expanded staffing.

But because the state of Nebraska is expecting its tax receipts to fall, lawmakers cut the total amount of state aid to local school districts.

Grand Island still came out well compared to other school districts, Joel said. But the amount of state aid increase dropped to $4.3 million. As a result, Joel said, the district decided to spend $2.23 million additional or expanded staffing.

One of the mandates all Nebraska school districts face is to have K-3 classrooms with fewer than 20 students. Joel said Grand Island may not be able to achieve that in every case, but will in the majority of K-3 classrooms.

Although the staffing plan may still be altered, it now calls for 3 more kindergarten, five more first grade, two more second grade and two more third grade teachers. Joel said the district is anticipating a very large kindergarten class on the heels of a large kindergarten class this year.

Some additional teachers also will be added in the upper elementary grades and 5.5 staff will be added for what the district is calling poverty support for lower income students.

Joel noted that sixth-grade enrollment at Westridge Middle School now stands at 147, close to the 160 cutoff point. The staffing plan calls for adding three teachers at Westridge, although Joel said he would have preferred adding four teachers. Barr and Walnut will share a social worker.

The middle schools also will have 2.5 staff for poverty support.

Senior High will receive an additional math teacher and additional science teacher, as well as a part-time counselor, under the staffing plan as it now stands.

Joel said the district also plans to have a limited transportation system for the coming school year.

The board tabled approving contracts Cannon Moss Brygger and Associates as the district's architect and Kucirek Engineering and Associates as the district engineer to work on various school building projects through the year 2013.

Board members wanted its attorney to review the contracts, with Susan Bullington expressing particular concern over whether the district has enough insurance coverage in the archictectural contract.

The board also tabled a three-year lease for space at the Central District Health Department to accomodate the district's Welcome Center, which is used to assess immigrant students to make sure they have the proper placement for their language skills, whether that be in the regular classroom or some level of English language learner classroom.

The board did approve Johnson Controls' response for renewable energy services.

Business manager Virgil Harden said the contract calls for Johnson Controls to do a feasibility study for $46,000 on renewable energy sources including wind, solar electric and solar thermal for the district's domestic water.

If the board did not want to proceed after the feasibility study was completed, it would owe Johnson Controls $46,000 for the study, Harden said. If it did proceed with the renewable energy projects, the $46,000 would be rolled into the overall cost, which is to be paid over time through energy savings.

Matt Leaper of Johnson Controls had talked at an earlier meeting about trying to have renewable resources provide 25 percent of the district's total energy needs.

The board recognized Davin Jameson of Grand Island Senior High for qualifying to compete in the YMCA National Short Course Swimming Championships.

It also recognized students in the College Access Class of 2008. It heard testimonials from a number of those students on how the class helped them to find scholarships and also decide what schools to attend.

Senior High Principal Kent Mann told the board about Senior High's tech prep program, which allows students to take classes at the high school that also qualify for college credit at Central Community College. He said 201 seniors, or nearly half the senior class, have taken tech prep courses for a potential savings of more than $73,000 if they do go on to attend CCC.

He said the tech prep program also provides students with training for increasingly technological jobs.