The Broadus School Board Trustees met for their monthly meeting on Monday evening, with all members in attendance except for Lori Fortner and Amanda Zimmer. The meeting began with reports by the clerk and principal until a quorum could be reached and the agenda items discussed. In her report, Principal Denise Ternes discussed the COVID outbreak at the school; at one time nine teachers were out due to positive tests or quarantine from exposure, but as of Monday things were looking better, with the majority of teachers and students back in class.
The board voted on several hirings, including Shawn Hayes for an assistant maintenance postion, Lee Turnbough as an assistant girls basketball coach, Callie Williams as a substitute teacher at the elementary, Adam Opstedahl as an activities bus driver, and several volunteer coaches, including Monica Smith for girls basketball, Wyatt Williams for wrestling, and Kristi Lanke for boys basketball.
Next on the agenda, the board discussed the door lock/buzzer system at the elementary and high school; the elementary system had come up last month as a future agenda item. The system would maintain locked front doors at the schools, with a camera system and buzzer where a school employee inside the office could let in visitors. Discussion centered on the efficacy of such a system, particularly with the availability of other entrances which might not be locked 100% of the time. Eventually the board voted on the matter, with all in favor of installing the system at the elementary. The high school will not have such a system at this time, due to several factors including cost and the more complicated entry at the high school, and multiple doors.
A generator setup at the high school was also discussed, with the board moving to approve a bid process for a propane generator which would be large enough to power the high school, which could be a good purchase with the recent number of power outages. Currently the elementary has a substantial generator, and the building may be used as a shelter for the town, but the school’s servers are located at the high school.
In the event of a power outage, anything internet related will not be an option for elementary students, and high schoolers apparently will have to entertain and enlighten themselves in the dark, a proposition which may not be in everyone’s best interest. Additionally, portions of the boiler heating system at the high school rely on electricity to heat the place. A propane generator will allow these systems to operate as usual, and provide student education in a clean, well-lighted place.
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