VIENNA — Maries R-1 Superintendent Teresa Messersmith shared updates on some of the district’s upcoming bond-funded projects during the Aug. 20 Board of Education meeting.

Messersmith and Maintenance and Facilities Supervisor Mike Shaughnessy met with Archer-Elgin and Alexander Construction for a pre-construction meeting about some of the projects, which the district is funding through the $2 million bond voters passed in April. The meeting helped to set a schedule for some of the projects.

Work has already begun on the handicap-accessible sidewalk, and the project will be completed in September. Messersmith recommended board members take a look at the new elementary school gym floor if they had not already seen it because she was impressed by the work.

The cafeteria boiler replacement will happen before fall. Resealing the parking lot is a possibility for this fall though it may have to wait until next spring depending on factors such as weather.

Construction around the restrooms in the pre-K through the second-grade wing should be completed by next February. The work will begin on the outside before coming inside to knock through a wall. The restrooms will be temporarily out of order until the project finishes. After finishing that project, the construction crew will begin work on the restrooms in the third-grade through fifth-grade hall with plans to finish that by next May.

The contractor plans to complete the updates to ceilings and lighting in the pre-K through second-grade hall when school is out of session next summer. The updates to the elementary school fire alarm and the doors and windows on campus are also set for that time.

The HVAC updates and work in the high school gym are not yet scheduled. Messersmith said she told the contractors that fixing the leaking that comes into the building is one of the district’s top priorities, so she expected to get that scheduled soon.

Alexander Construction will provide the district with monthly updates throughout the projects.

Administrators and activity sponsors from the new Show-Me Central Conference met in August to work out scheduling for conference events such as choir, band, knowledge bowl and a variety of tournaments. The schools in the new conference are Bunceton, Calvary Lutheran, Chamois, Jamestown, Prairie Home, St. Elizabeth, Tuscumbia and Vienna.

Messersmith said it was a good meeting and the conference leaders collaborated well. Vienna will host the conference knowledge bowl for third grade through fifth grade and the high school conference choir.

All the certified teachers will travel to St. Elizabeth on Nov. 4 for the first Show-Me Central Conference professional development day. Messersmith said a keynote speaker will review strategies and skills to create success in the classroom and a lawyer will review educational law concepts. Teachers will also have smaller group meetings with teachers of the same subjects and grade levels.

Mary Halbrook provided the district with a $2,000 donation for unpaid lunch balances. Messersmith said the school appreciated the donation.

The district sold two buses it used for trips for $2,145 and $715 on the auction website Purple Wave. Messersmith said the district’s plan is to purchase two used buses that are in good shape.

Formula Classroom Trust Fund money totaled $105,645.49 for the month. Proposition C funds totaled $73,488.52, which was higher than normal. The district received $20,862 in Transportation money.

The electric bill was $6,582.14, which is about average for this time of the year. The propane level was 22 percent at the start of the school year, and Messersmith said she expected that the district would need to buy propane soon.