VIENNA — The Maries R-1 School Board was updated on the progress of the construction improvements to the campus and track made possible by the no-tax-increase bond issue district voters passed in June to fund these needed improvements.

At the school board’s October meeting, Superintendent Mark Parker briefed the board on the progress of the projects. The old band room in being converted to a weight room. The old band room was vacated and the old school library is now a newly renovated space for the band. Parker said maintenance manager Mike Shaughnessy was doing the work to prepare the new weight room area for the students.

The track rehabilitation is a big project, which was pushed back a few days due to heavy rain in the area. However, the heavy rain showed more work needed to be done to properly drain the track and other water issues that needed to be addressed. Parker told the school board Byrne & Jones Sports Construction will be adding more dirt, will regrade, and install a French drain system. Water will drain into buried pipes and the water will dump down the hillside, taking the water away from the track. The area will be seeded for grass and the company will return in the spring to seed again.

The track’s new surface received the final spray on Nov. 6 and the company will come back in a week to do the stripping. The placement of the lines on the track was approved by Track Coach David Martin, who will be present when the lines are painted on the track.

The school received donations to purchase two sets of bleachers for the track from Matt and Nadine Novak and the Bank of St. Elizabeth. A total of six bleacher sections are needed. Parker told the board there is more interest in the community to donate bleachers. Any donations made above the cost of the bleachers will be put toward the fence project.

Parker said the track rehabilitation project is a “great upgrade for our athletic department.”

Eagle Pride Drive will receive its last concrete pour on Nov. 9 and will need a week to cure before buses can use it. The delivery road between the elementary school and middle school is finished. Trenching and drainage work was done with the road as well. The sidewalks and a new ramp to the track are not finished but work is expected to begin on that portion of the project once the road is finished. Reese Equipment, Dixon, is doing the concrete work for Maries R-1.

The price of these track, road and sidewalk improvements is about $500,000.

The board looked at brp Architects conceptual drawing of what the new hallway/concession stand addition will look like. The new concession stand is to be built on the south side of the gym entrance and a new hallway in the addition will connect with the new band room. The concession stand will be new and modern with new equipment, concession area and storage. It will have a grill, a three-door refrigerator, sink, pizza oven, hotdog roller, popcorn machine, and pizza warmer, plus a dedicated storage area. Tables and chairs will be outside the concession area in a small hallway space just outside the band room door. The renovation includes a new glass foyer at the entrance and a new security door at the north entrance to the gym. A new, larger outside sidewalk and steps with hand railings also are planned.

Parker said the old concession area may be used as a coaches’ office or for more storage space.

In other business at the Oct. 26 R-1 School Board meeting:

• In the financial report, Oct. Formula/CTF revenues were $98,672.08, down $17,214 in the two-year average. Prop C revenue was $40,836.56, up $4,327 on the two-year average. Transportation revenue was $6,346, up $82.50 on the two-year average.

The school district continues to see savings each month in electricity expenses. In October the bill was $3,725.41. In Oct. 2019 the bill was $4,276.35.

• Parker was pleased to report the Highway Patrol presented the school district with the Total Fleet Excellence Award. It’s a certificate for safe transportation as in the annual bus inspection 90 percent or greater of the buses were approved. They will receive fleet excellence stickers.

• School board member David Long said there was a very good showing of Vienna fans at the girls softball games.

• Parker presented the board members with a budget update. He used conservative revenue figures, they same way he did in June, making revenue estimates based on what he thought would happen. Some say the economy is coming back and Parker said he’s hopeful about getting the district’s funding back to a more normal level.

CARES Act revenue and expenditures were highlighted in the general ledger of all funds and accounts. The elementary and secondary school emergency relief fund (ESSER) are state funds that are part of the CARES Act. The school has to spend the money before it can apply for reimbursement. Parker said he’s not comfortable making a big purchase, which later may be denied reimbursement so he asked for a pre-approval for $22,000 for iPads. He is waiting on iPad prices from AT&T. The school received 100 Chromebooks for $34,000. This is a lot of money but the county commissioners have been gracious with the school district in distributing the CARES Act money when the school requested assistance. Maries R-1 has received about $120,000 in CARES Act money to help cover expenses caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus. With the Chromebooks, they would have to wait for some time to be able to afford them. Now, the school district will have a laptop for all students grades 6-12.

The government gave the school district $29,932 for additional Covid-19 expenses. It can’t be for salaries. Parker said maybe more iPads, computers, bump up the camera system, helping with contact tracing, or remote hot spots. The county pre-approved the match of $24,000 to build up WiFi. The problem is at addresses off Highways 63 and 42 the hot spots don’t always work.

The iPads the school purchased have data and this works around the lack of a good internet connection as the students use the data to learn. At the meeting, Parker said the students were distance learning that week and each family has one device to use at home.

Board President Vicki Bade told Parker they appreciate him putting this together.

• The board approved the policy updates. Parker said all of them were based on laws passed by the legislature.

• Parker said he is working on obtaining specifications on the track fence so he can get competitive bids from Mid-Mo Fence and Central Fence. He hopes to have the bids for the board’s next meeting.

The next projects with the bond issue funds are safety improvements to school entryways and the new classroom windows.

Board members present at the meeting were Dave Garro, Dave Long, Vicki Bade, Mike Kleffner and Penny Schoene (remotely).