School Board Talks About Buildings, Both New and Old

Architects, engineers, and repairs were the main topic of the night at the last Malta School Board meeting held on Wednesday, February 9.

In the standing committee report, the building committee consisting of trustees Justin Lamb and Scott Meneely met with Elementary Principal Mrs. Seymour for a tour of the Malta Elementary School. They reported to the board that there are many issues in the building. There is a water leak in the gym, the library has a bad leak with water coming in around an old window, one of the boy’s bathrooms had been completely shut down due to leaking pipes and a leaky urinal, there is an ant problem throughout the building even with pest control coming in on a regular basis, corrosion is showing on the pipes and on the stalls where they are bolted together, and many of the tiles throughout the school need to be replaced.

Lamb said, “Even after the one bathroom had been completely cleaned, it still smelled in there really bad.”

The board discussed that there is a maintenance fund that can take care of some of the issues, and issues like the bathroom should be taken care of right away.

Board President, Carter Clausen said, “These are the reasons that we need the building reserve levy to pass. The budget can only take care of a few of the issues. The Elementary building is 72 years old. It, as well as the old gym, require some upkeep if they are to be continued to be used.”

In other action items, the board approved the hiring of an architect to draw up some plans for a bus barn to be built in the spot where the busses are currently parked now.

Mr. Genger said, “Bids can’t be put up until there is something drawn up. This is just a first step. We need to see if it will be financially possible to build one.”

The board is looking to use the transportation fund, as it stands right now, to finance the building of the bus barn.

“It’s a needed building to take care of the transportation that we have invested in,” said Genger. “With the weather we have here in the winter, it will help a lot with the upkeep of the busses. We need to see if it’s an actual possibility first.”

The last building-related action was the hiring of Ray Dawes Engineering for the HVAC system in the elementary school. They were the only group to put a bid in. The vote that was approved in the meeting was to hire the company, not actually accepting any dollar amount or version that has been put forward.

“This is a time-sensitive issue,” said Genger. “We are using the ESSER money for this and there is a time limit on it.”

The ESSER money also comes with certain limits set by the government as to what it can be used for, and it needs to be used by September of 2024 or it simply gets sent back to the government.

In administrative reports, the board heard from Malta Student Council members Jade Darrington, Student Body President, and Kennedy Koss, Junior Class Secretary.

Koss told the board that the student council had started to look at the business side of the snack cart that they have been selling healthy snacks from. They have started keeping an inventory list and tracking sales of the different items being sold.

Darrington told the board that the student council has started to put together an updated new student orientation. The council had put together a questionnaire for the newest students to fill out, asking them what they wished they would have known better beforehand. The board asked the girls if they have had a chance to look at the data yet. Darrington said, “Not completely, but I have noticed the same comment on almost all of them. They wish they would have known that the grading curve was a little tougher in our school.”

Darrington added that the student council is trying to come up with ways to be more involved in the school.

Koss told the board that morale has been a little low in the school and that they are working on ways to reverse that. Such as planning a “fun day”, with class competitions along the lines of homecoming week.

Mrs. Murphy, along with some members of the Middle School FFA, informed the board, as well as showed them pictures and a short video, of the trip they had taken to Great Falls.

Mrs. Murphy then told the board that the week of the 22nd through the 25th was going to be a very busy week.

A greeting for upcoming middle schoolers that plan on entering FFA would be on the 22nd. On the 24th, the FFA would be serving a pancake breakfast for the community starting at 7:45 a.m. And on the 25th, the FFA would be holding their first annual FFA Ag Day at the elementary school. Consisting of a petting zoo along with some educational stations.

The next Malta School Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 8, at 7:00 p.m.