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Editor
Gary W. Meyer
The Big Lake Board of Education, as expected, approved a $10 million bond referendum for school improvements, set for May 24, at their regular meeting Thursday.
The board will break the issue into two questions: a $9 million issue for varied improvements; and a $1 million issue for turf installation and other improvements to their high school football field.
Hours of voting at the Independence Elementary Community Room will be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The varied improvements come as a vote of confidence from the school’s recent telephone survey of 300 district residents. They placed high value on those improvements.
Residents were not so supportive of the football field improvements, thus they were set to a second question. Question No. 1 needs to pass for Question No. 2 to be successful.
Details on those improvements will be covered in next week’s Tribune.
The board was not unanimous in calling for the football field improvements. Boardmembers Dan Nygaard and Tom Pietrzak voted to keep them off the election, going with just the $9 million general issue.
But Boardmembers Amber Sixberry, Tonya Reasoner and Mark Hedstrom overruled, saying the voters should have a say in that issue too. Boardmember Tim Hayes was absent.
In a related agenda item, the board approved a bid of McDowall Companies of St. Cloud for installation of a new roof over about a quarter of BLHS, the work to be done this summer. Bid for the work was $969,700. Other bids ranged up to $1.3 million.
Paul Bell, director of buildings and grounds, called the bid good and said perhaps other roof work could be done, as they had allotted $1 million for the project.
A bid will also be accepted in March for sitework around Independence Elementary, also to be done this summer. A parking lot and northside playground will be most improved by the work.
(The above projects are not supported by taxpayer monies; rather, from state funds as part of their new deferred maintenance program.)
Teacher Pact Approved
The board unanimously approved a new two-year salary and fringe benefit pact for its teacher union.
The contract affects the current (2015-16) year and the 2016-17 year.
Teachers agreed to a small increase over the current year. opting for more money in the second year.
They will see a 2.9% overall hike this year, eliminating a first step and adding a last step of increases in the contract. Cost for the year will be $307,197.
In the second year, they will receive a 5.4% salary increase, amounting to an increase cost of $1,013.772 to the district.
Health benefits for the two year contract weren’t a top priority. They agreed to a zero increase in health coverage for each year.
The contract was approved by a 4-0 vote, with Boardmember Dan Nygaard, whose wife is a teacher, abstaining.
No further details were released at the meeting. They will be reported in next week’s Tribune.
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