The Van Buren County School Board Wednesday night approved roof repairs at Van Buren County High School and Spencer Elementary.
Both roofs have multiple leaks. School Board Member Benjamin Grissom asked why, saying the roofs have too many issues for such a fairly new roof. Director of Schools Katina Simmons said a contractor suggested the maintenance after an inspection in February.
“I’m not sure I would hate to speak on it,” Simmons said. “When he did his presentation, it was just, I felt like it was a lot of aging. Some things that were tried to fix that we just didn’t get right, maybe.”
The repairs to the roofs will cost an estimated $170,000, with an additional $5,000 each year for the next two years for further preventative maintenance. Board Member Barry Austin said the repairs are much cheaper than a full roof replacement.
“So we are looking at $170,000, but if we had to replace one of the roofs, we are looking at $400,000,” Austin said.
Simmons said during the negotiations, the contractor was willing to work with the school system to get the project’s costs down.
“They did lower their initial quote,” Simmons said. “They did lower that about $30,000 from the original quote. I asked them if they would be open to that, and they did.”
Simmons said they checked on the warranty before following through with the repairs and that the warranty for both roofs have expired. Spencer Elementary’s roof was last replaced in 2014.
In other business, the board approved tenure for Drew Roberts and Shelene Hitchcock.
The board approved to donate $800 to the Van Buren County Imagination Library. The Van Buren County Imagination Library provides free books to children from birth to five years old.
The board recognized the retirement of 3rd-grade teacher Sally Cunningham. Cunningham served 18 years in the Van Buren County School system. The board also recognized the retirement of Supervisor of Attendance/Transportation/Safety Billie “BB” Grissom. Grissom served 38 years in the Van Buren County School System.
The board approved the use of Savvas for the high school math curriculum. Simmons said many teachers feel comfortable using the curriculum.
