RC Elementary bids may be let by the end of the month; superintendent search calendar approved

The New Year will bring improvements to the Rogers City Elementary School building and possibly new leadership to the superintendent?s office. Presentations were made during Monday?s Rogers City Area Schools Board of Education meeting regarding both issues. Architect Tad Latuszek presented drawings and computer-generated images of what the half-century-old building will look like when the project is finished at the end of summer. The improvements include a new heating system, the installation of double-pane windows, upgrades to the lighting system, as well as infrastructure upgrades.

In addition, the architect is exploring some options that would make the building more ADA compliant. Latuszek said a ramp or a lift needs to be installed in the hallway. A lift seems more likely, said Latuszek. RC Elementary was built in 1955 with an interior corridor stair to access half the school at an elevation difference of about 40 inches. There is currently no barrier-free route from one end of the school to the other.

LATUSZEK, DURING his computer slide presentation, said the prints are 95 percent complete. Superintendent Paul Mancine hopes to put the project out for bids by the end of the month, pending the finalization of the prints and discussions with the construction manager.

?Things are progressing,? said Mancine. The project is expected to cost between $1.3 million and $1.5 million, although those figures need some fine-tuning he said. Funding will come from the vote-approved building and site fund, which generates about $300,000 a year. This restrictive fund cannot be used for the operation of the district or salaries, but is earmarked specifically for the maintenance of school facilities. The fund is currently at $550,000. The rest of the money will come from the sale of bonds. The school board received six bids from financial institutions regarding the sale of the bonds. At Monday?s meeting, they approved the sale of building and site bonds to Comerica Securities/Bank of Alpena, who had the lowest interest rate at 3.9 percent. Mancine said the district mailed solicitation of bids to all Rogers City and several northeast Michigan financial institutions.

EARLIER IN the meeting, Jeffrey went over some details of the superintendent search, including the establishment of the search calendar. The first order of business was a decision to post a combined superintendent/elementary principal position, which took little time to reach a consensus. At previous meetings the board had talked about the need for the principal to have more contact time with teachers and staff. Deb Jones is currently serving as K-12 principal. A tentative calendar also was agreed upon, and follows: January 24

— Meet with all interested groups to develop community profile and candidate profile. Various sessions will be held in the afternoon with invitations to support staff and professional staff. School board to hold a special session at 5:30 p.m. for their input. Late afternoon and evening session with community members will be conducted. Specific times of the sessions will be announced later, said Mancine.

All sessions will be conducted in the high school library and are open to anyone including the public, to accommodate individual time constraints. Staff and community members are encouraged to attend.

January 29 — Draft of formal vacancy announcement and search procedure provided to board for approval. Final announcement sent to job web sites and mailed to interested candidates. March 9 — Deadline for applications. March 14 and 15 — First interviews. March 26 — Second interviews (if necessary) April 9 or sooner… Selection of finalist, negotiation of contract, and appointment of superintendent. July 1 — New superintendent assumes position.

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