School to spend $147,000 on improvement projects

Tim Luithle and Paul Fossum were re-elected to the Hillsboro School Board Tuesday.

The two men ran unopposed. Fossum is president of the board of education.

At Tuesday night’s monthly meeting, board members approved improvement projects totaling $273,063.

More than $147,000 in improvements will be made at the high school. Another $71,724 will be spent at the elementary school.

New lights and a scoreboard at the football field will cost $28,000.

At the high school, repair of the roof will cost $89,914. Replacement of computers will carry a price tag of $34,000. New tables, chairs and desks are scheduled for the ag classrooms. 

And teachers Mark Rerick, Matt Trapp and Elliot Rotvold will have new ActivBoards in their classrooms next year.

A wireless computer lab will be purchased for the elementary school for $25,000. New lunch tables costing $14,300 will also be purchased.

New library furniture and desks for the third grade students are also being purchased. Plus, teachers Chris Garrett and Kari Ferguson will be receiving new ActivBoards in their classrooms. An ActivBoard is also being purchased for the Title 1 classroom.

In other business Tuesday, board members approved a 5 percent raise for the school’s bus drivers and a 4 percent raise for the school’s auxiliary staff.

Supt. Mike Bitz reported that the elementary and high school met and passed the “Annual Adequate Yearly Progress Report,” a measuring standard established by the state Department of Public Instruction.

Pleased with the report’s findings on the Hillsboro School, Bitz speculated that half the schools in the state will not meet the standards set by the state.