Heating system issues challenging School District

DAYTON–Problems with the heating system at the school campus were presented to the Dayton School Board at its November 15 meeting.

Head Custodian John Delp informed the board of the recent system failure with the heating system. “Elementary, High School, and Gym are not talking to the main computer and need to be replaced,” he said. “The High School heat must be adjusted manually to maintain heat in the building. Elementary and the gym are functioning but they are not communicating to the main computer, so there is no set back time for night time, weekends or holidays. The team is gathering information for an Emergency Grant to help cover the cost. Most of the classrooms have been staying warm except the Woodshop. Hopefully this will be resolved soon.”

The Board also approved six out-of-endorsement positions, named an additional student representative and heard beginning discussions on the upcoming Capitol Levy. A 2009 Ford F-250 truck was purchased for the maintenance department.

The out-of-endorsement position approved allows teachers to teach outside their endorsements and specialized areas of study, and are then, able to fill vacant positions.

The board approved Lila Hutchens to be an additional student representative, then were advised by Madison Richards of the multiple leadership projects completed over the last two months - such as homecoming, pole painting, and a Veterans Day assembly. She also discussed information nights for seniors to learn about scholarships and get their portfolios ready for college applications as well as getting ready for graduation.

With fall sports concluded, Athletic Director Sam Korslund is planning an awards night. Middle School boys’ basketball has started and girls’ basketball set to begin in January. High School basketball recently started this week with a combined 24 players. Two players have registered for wrestling and a cooperative program was set up with Waitsburg, Korslund reported, but since the meeting, Waitsburg has declined to participate Korslund told the Dayton Chronicle.

Elementary School Principal discussed successful parent teacher conferences, their Walk to Read plan, and the Scholastic Book Fair. Cox stated that the scholastic book fair did not do well enough to raise money for the school, but earned enough points so teachers could give each student one free book to take home.

Middle and Senior High schoolers have had a busy month with events such as Halloween, Homecoming activities and dance, which included a Color Run, Macho Volleyball, and Powderpuff Football; and student-led conferences.

Feedback on the student-led conferences were positive and administrators reported a desire to hold them once a year. More discussion on the topic is anticipated.

Progress reports were sent out at the beginning of the month along with tutoring options for students who needed extra help.

Interim Superintendent Rich Stewart has been working on getting ready for the upcoming capital levy and EPO requests. His team is working to get all the information they need together to be ready, and wants to make sure any upcoming expenses don’t impact their cash position.

Jana Eaton, Dayton School District Business Manager, explained that they are receiving the rest of the levy money and are in good shape. They are also preparing for an upcoming federal audit, and is confident it will go well.

No new policies were voted on at this time. The state has implemented new policy changes, and the school board is working to update their policies to reflect that.