Middle school flooring project gets a second look

     The Monticello School Board approved a bid of $30,812.50 from Greenwood Cleaning Systems of Davenport to repolish the concrete floor inside the new middle school.

     During the May 24 Board of Education meeting, District Buildings and Grounds Director Dennis Dirks recommended approval of Greenwood to perform the project.

     Superintendent Brian Jaeger said the school still has funds in the construction budget to cover the cost.

     While the flooring done through a subcontractor was to specifications, Jaeger said this takes it a step further.

     Dirks said the flooring was “pushed out” because the contractor was 12 weeks behind.

     “The finish is not what we wanted,” he shared. “It’s not great. There’s no shine to it.”

     He said Greenwood would take about a week’s time to lay down a sealant. From there, school staff would then be able to reapply the material themselves every three years or so.

     School board member Debbie McDermott asked if the district could get money back from a job that was not up to par.

     “It should have been a little better than what it was,” added Dirks.

     He said there was a reason they chose a different company this time to perform the work.

     “This is a new school,” continued McDermott. “We want it to look good.”

     Dirks said he contacted three different companies for bids and two of them didn’t want to do the refinishing.

     “They said it wasn’t finished enough to come back in,” explained Dirks of their reasoning.

     Supporting McDermott’s initial idea, Board member Amanda Brenneman asked if it was worth looking into to recoup some funds. Dirks said it might be worth going back to the general contractor, Portzen, and have them come in to look at the condition of the floor now and after Greenwood completes their project.

     “It’s worth a shot,” suggested Jaeger. ‘We still have some retainage; the project is still open.”

     “Does OPN have any teeth in the game?” asked Board member John Schlarmann of the middle school architects. “It might be worth a call.”

     Express Associate Editor Pete Temple also contributed to this story.

In other board business:

     • As part of the consent agenda, the board approved several personnel items:

     Resignations – Sammy Grippo as K-12 school counselor, Daniel Pike as assistant varsity football coach, assistant varsity wrestling coach and middle school wrestling coach; Curt Paulsen as bus driver (after 34 years), Linda Kelly as satellite kitchen manager, Wendy Davis as special education child specific associate, Molly Leytem as special education program associate, and four food service employees: Kathy Byron, Diane Clements, Diane Boczkowski and Trudy Hines.

     Appointments – Donna Niemeyer as kindergarten teacher, Shannon Guyer as mentor facilitator, Daniel Pike as volunteer football coach and volunteer wrestling coach, Nathan Freeze and Jarrett Easton as assistant varsity football coaches, Callie Kromminga Smith as .5 dean of students, Dalton Harms as volunteer baseball coach, Stacy Campbell and Hallie Krier as first grade teachers, and Dana Hansen, Charlotte Niederhauser and Megan Mahoney as summer custodians.

     Transfers – Michelle Liptak from special education program associate at Shannon to custodian (floater), and Stacy Campbell from math teacher and ELP coordinator to first grade teacher at Shannon.

     • The board heard a report from Middle School Principal Todd Werner, who said the school hopes to add an agricultural education class for eighth-graders, to be used as a lead-in to high school ag courses.

     • The board approved cancelling their July 14 work session.

     • Elementary School Principal Denny Folken shared in his report that the transition visits went well for fourth and first graders. The fourth graders visited the middle school, and the first graders visited Carpenter School.