ILWACO – Following a 21-minute executive session toward the end of Monday night’s monthly meeting of the Ocean Beach School District Board of Directors, R.B. and G Construction LLC. were awarded the bid for construction on Hilltop School. The contractor, which also won the bid for the current construction on Ocean Park and Long Beach schools, beat out the only other bidder for the project with a base bid of $7,920,000.

With an additional $198,000 in additive alternates, including $79,800 for additional kitchen equipment and $54,000 for the purchase of wood flooring for the new gym, the total bid came to $8,118,000.

There was no alternate for remodeling of the Hilltop auditorium on the bid approved by the board. School board chairman Ed Guelfi would not comment on what price the contractor had put down for that alternate, other than to say it was “not acceptable.” He added this does not mean a remodel of that facility will not occur, noting they could go out to bid on that project separately at a future time, or negotiate with the contractor on a more suitable price.

The only other bidder on the project was Triplett-Wellman of Stayton, Ore., which gave a base bid of $8,050,000. Superintendent Rainer Houser and projects manager Russ McElroy agreed that the fact many schools have gone out to bid for school construction projects this year limits the number of interested contractors. McElroy said that as of last week he knew of three contractors that had said they were committed to bidding and two more were “on the fence.”

But despite having only two bidders, Houser said the fact both bids were so close gave a good reflection of what the real cost should be. Over two years ago when the projects were just getting underway, architects estimated the cost for Hilltop would be around $7.1 million – not a bad difference according to Houser, who noted the rise in building material costs in that time.

He also said he expected construction to be underway by early September and substantial construction will be taking place around the time of the “Ocian in View” bicentennial events will take place in the auditorium.

Getting ready to openAs far as the other schools under construction go, Houser said in his superintendent report “we anticipate everything will be on schedule for opening on Sept. 6.”

Houser said he had toured the facilities that day and noted things are really taking shape at both schools. Custodial staff will be busy moving in furniture all this week (see related story) in order to be ready for teacher arrival next Monday. He said despite their current appearance, they have been assured the exterior essentials and the interior will be completed in time and will be a safe environment.

“They’re making good progress,” he said. “It’s going as well as can be expected.”

Board vice-chair Cheri Jones noted there will be ribbon cutting ceremonies at both sites on the first day of school, starting at 9 a.m. at Long Beach School and 10 a.m. at Ocean Park. There will also be official dedication events for both buildings on Oct. 5.

But before any ribbons can be cut, or the building even have doors opened to students, Ocean Park School’s notorious water tank, which was painted white earlier this week, has to be filled. McElroy said the district is currently working out the details of this with the Ocean Park Water District.

Apparently, the fastest the water can be poured into the tank is at a speed of 50 gallons per minute – a time frame of about 50 continuous hours of flow – in order to fill the 148,000 gallon tank. The water district has expressed some concern about filling it all at once, as that may affect the way its other customers can access water while doing so. McElroy said they are looking at doing it in increments over about a weeks time, saying it’s not a matter of if but when it will be done.

No food in classrooms?As part of moving into new facilities, this the summer the board has discussed new policies regarding eating and drinking in classrooms and the use of personal furniture and appliances by teachers. This apparently did not sit well with two teachers who came to discuss their disapproval of the policies with the board

Ilwaco High School teachers Amy Huntley and Shawn Stern addressed the board saying a ban on eating in classrooms is a detriment to both staff and students. Huntley said many clubs, like Knowledge Bowl and chess, meet during lunch period. If they could not eat while meeting they could not have the club. She said snacks are an important opportunity as well for students and staff, as many teachers work through their lunch break. She said this could also have harmful affects on health if someone is diabetic, or nursing.

As far as the personal furniture and appliances, Huntley pointed out the refrigerator in the staff lounge at IHS is not in good working order, doesn’t keep regulated temperature and “breaks down at least once a year.”

Stern said he was “floored” to hear of the policy, noting in his time in the district he has yet to have a classroom that came with a desk or a teacher chair. Stern said if they plan to ban his furniture and appliances, then he expects the district to buy replacements for him and read off a list that included a desk, a chair, a refrigerator – he teaches science and needs them for storage – and two microwave ovens. Both teachers voiced their concern about how these policies directly affect them were not discussed during the school year where they could have had some input.

Houser spoke up and explained the policies are still in the planning stages and have not become official yet. He said the committee drafting the policy, which does feature teachers and other staff, will put out their recommendation for comment by staff within the first month of the school year. He noted the policies were not being added to try and make life uncomfortable for anyone, but rather to keep classrooms clean, hygienic and safe.

Extra-curricular budget and consent itemsThe board received a report on extra-curricular costs for the previous school year’s activities. The summary showed total expenditures of $216,216 – some $14,784 under the budgeted amount of $231,000.

The biggest savings came from the baseball team, which spent only $12,911 of its budgeted $18,000. The golf team also saved almost half of its budgeted $10,000. The only team to overspend by a significant amount was the wrestling squad, which went $4,452 over budget. District business manager Linda Thompson explained this was mostly due to the amount of travel and the fact many meets are on Saturday, causing staff to be paid overtime.

The report also showed a total of $15,010 raised through the “pay to participate” fees. Thompson and Guelfi agreed some reshuffling of funds to the different areas of that budget will take place this year, in order to have a more accurate sports budget.

The consent agenda saw the board approving retirements by Ocean Park clerical assistant Sherry Mercer and Ocean Park paraeducator Jaylene Millner, and the medical leave of paraeducator Jon Crain.

The board also approved pay increases for substitutes to the following amounts: $100 a day for certified, $8 per hour for paraeducators, library assistants, clerical assistants, supervisory assistants and food service; $8.50 per hour for secretary and $8.95 per hour for custodial.