Havre school board hears update on upcoming and ongoing projects

At last week’s planning meeting Havre Public Schools administrators and trustees discussed proposed and ongoing projects in the district and what the next few years will bring.

HPS Superintendent Craig Mueller first gave an update on the districts ongoing coordination with AMERESCO, which has been contracted to do an energy audit of the school and make improvements to buildings and facilities to make them more efficient and save the district money in the long run.

Mueller said he’s been meeting with AMERESCO’s team every two weeks and, based on those conversations, it doesn’t seem like the bulk of this work will get done by the end of the summer and much of it will need to be done over the coming school year.

Thankfully, he said, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds being used to pay for this work have been extended, so as long as they have it allocated, they don’t need to get it spent as quickly as originally thought.

He said they, of course, want to get these projects done as soon as possible, but with so many people looking to get COVID-19 money spent it may take longer than they’d like.

Mueller said AMERESCO does have a new project manager in place, so that might move things along a bit.

One of the projects that’s going to come before the board for approval soon is asbestos abatement in Highland Park Early Primary School.

Mueller said the asbestos has been sealed for the safety of students and staff, but it’s been recommended that they abate all of it and how much abatement they feel they can do will be discussed at a board meeting at some point.

He also talked about the NorthWestern Energy E+ Renewable Program, saying the school has requested a $105,000 grant through the Universal Systems Benefits program for the project, which will allow the district to put solar panels on the bus garage to charge two electric buses.

He said the school has secured the other $92,590 for the almost-$200,000 project as a match and this project will save the district a considerable amount of money in the long term.

Mueller talked about athletics projects including addressing damage to the tennis courts the district uses. He said the current bid on repairs is $68,800 but the district is having conversations with the city of Havre to see if they can contribute anything, since they so often use the city’s courts.

He said it doesn’t sound like the city will be able to contribute anything this year, but they are open to helping in following years.

He also said they talked about the possibility of having the city tennis courts donated to the school.

Mueller said it’s been proposed in the past that the district might construct a new court south of the Havre High School, but Mueller said he thinks they already have enough options for good places to play.

He said the district has been talking with the U.S. Tennis Association, which provides assistance to schools looking to construct new courts or repair established ones, and he’s hoping they’ll be willing to provide some assistance.

Mueller also talked about track resurfacing at the Havre Middle School track, which is becoming increasingly necessary as cracks form and conditions worsen.

He said the track had repairs done in 2019, but they were a temporary fix, which is the reason contractors gave when they declined to return when Mueller got in touch with them earlier this year.

A full resurfacing, he said, would be an expensive project, $435,000 for a track with no drainage, and $553,000 for one with drainage, with the latter requiring work to be done on the foundations.

The proposed resurfacing would be guaranteed for five years, a number board members found concerning, but Highland Park Early Primary School Principal Mark Irvin, who is starting as Havre High activities director in the upcoming school year, said a full resurfacing like this will easily last 10, and he thinks the company, Beynon Sports out of Oregon, are just being cautious with their guarantees.

Mueller said the company has said they aren’t opposed to things like community work days to help move the project along, but the whole project at this point is a year out.

He also talked briefly about football field recrowning, but he doesn’t have a price or timeline for that project as it’s very early in the process.

He then talked about student programs including the Highland Park After School Program, which will provide extend activities to 60 kindergarten and first grade students.

Mueller said the program is a cooperative effort between the district and the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line and the total budget for the first year will be around $83,000.

He said the district would pay for half of the first year with the club paying the other half, but after that the club would take over the costs, and the district’s contribution will primarily come from their American Rescue Plan Act and Title I funds.

He said the program will help students in need academically and provide food, so he’s very excited for this program and administrators and staff seem to share that feeling.

Mueller talked about the district applying for an Office of Community Oriented Policing Services School Violence Prevention Program Grant of up to $500,000 to improve student safety and school security.

He said grant-writing costs will be about $5,000 but the grant could fund some big projects that could really improve school safety.

He also talked about a project to improve Highland Park’s fire alarms system which would be between $65,000 and $80,000.

The last topic of discussion was new positions at the school.

Mueller said the district is moving forward on establishing an at-risk coordinator position, a paraprofessional position that will provide additional assistance to students who may need more help academically.

The establishment of this position comes in the wake of increasing drop-out rates at Havre High School during, and in the aftermath, of the COVID-19 pandemic, which Havre Public Schools staff, trustees and community members have expressed concern about.

Mueller said the schools have created methods of identifying at-risk students in preparation for this position’s establishment, and he hopes this will help those students get where they need to be, working closely with administration in the process.

He said many people were hoping to get all teaching positions filled before looking for new positions, but this one is particularly important.

He said the district is also looking for an intervention specialist to oversee academic intervention and make sure everything is being handled as effectively as possible, a position that is being established in response to conversations he’s had with teachers regarding testing.

He also said the district is still looking for an Indian Education For All director, as well.