The Fairbanks School District is moving along with its permanent improvement plan for 2019.
At a board of education meeting Monday night, board members heard from teacher Kristi Payne about what she highlighted as a need for her classroom, which accommodates students with intellectual disabilities. With maintenance director Scott Shively, she showed members of the board a plan to renovate a custodial storage area in the school to become a life skills lab.
Payne said this area will teach her students about safety when using appliances and other household tasks, as these “real scenarios” will better equip them for adulthood.
“This has become even more of a need for us recently,” Payne said. “What we are asking for in the life skills lab is a fully equipped and functional lab with a kitchen stove, sink with running water, microwave, counter space and a washer and dryer.”
Payne said the request also seeks to create a personal restroom, shower and changing area for her students, as there are problems with sharing bathrooms with other students. She also said there is a kitchen available at the high school, but it’s used way too often for her students to be able to use.
“They (Payne’s students) are a small population of children but they are not having their needs met right now,” Payne said, explaining that as the student population will rise in the future, the need for this will be more urgent.
Shively said the renovations, along with a conversion of the ag shop, would come out to a $144,440.16 bid, compared to the estimated $145,000 cost of the project. The bid will be voted on during the December meeting.
The life skills lab project was incorporated into a list of other improvements in the 2019 plan. The board also approved a bid by Garland Roofing for the repair of the middle school’s roof.
Shively listed a number of improvements the middle school could use, with three proposals to choose. As well as fixing the roof, Shively said the improvements include replacing asbestos tiles, lockers, high school restroom sinks, exterior doors and storefronts and steam lines, as well as removing two antennas from the roof.
With the cost of the life skills lab factored, the project would total $780,498. The option was chosen by school board members.
Another option would total $899,444, but Shively said that would include a roof repair of the gym, which has nothing wrong with it. Another plan was to pay $239,166 three times over three years, but Superintendent David Baits said that was turned down because “we want to take care of this in one shot.”
The plan is to get these projects underway before school starts next year.
Also at the meeting:
-Eryn Staats, Jessi Landon and Sandi Hoover presented their findings for the program iReady, which helps develop personalized learning programs in the district. They highlighted how there’s a plan to both innovate student learning with computers yet still incorporate teachers.
Curriculum Director Teresa Goins said this is a way to give teachers data on their students to see what they need to learn at their own pace.
-Board president Mark Lippencott said progress is underway to find the district’s next superintendent. He received a report from K-12 Business Consulting that there is currently one person who applied for the position.
He said he expects more applicants to apply toward the Jan. 11 deadline.
The board will meet again at the high school at 6 p.m. Dec. 17 at the high school’s media center.