Decorah School Board deals with numerous facility issues

The Decorah Community School Board on Monday night heard updates on the nearly completed high school renovation. Work is finishing up on the science rooms as well as various other rooms. All window work has been completed and terrazzo work is nearly done. Bathroom fixtures are being hung. Buildings & Grounds Director Greg Schaller said they were hoping to advance the Fire Marshall's inspection from August 9 to August 7 to allow for teacher room preparations. Although there will be some "punch list" items and mechanical work to completed after that time, the project will be virtually completed in early August.

In other construction updates the board was informed that the renovation of Carrie Lee Elementary to provide additional classroom space should be completed by mid week. The board also got an update regarding research on the noise problems from the air conditioning system. Last summer neighbors had complained regarding excessive night time noise from the system. However, when a recent problem arose with the system it was discovered that the system should not even be cycling on and off in the evenings. It is hoped that when technicians come on Friday they will remedy the situation and the school district will not need to explore the next step for noise remediation (they had already put up some barriers, but with mixed results).

The board also approved a bid of about $48,000 by Modern Builders of Janesville, Iowa, to repair the Middle School roof via installation of new rubber seams. Last month the board received recommendations from a consultant regarding options on how to deal with the leakage problem.