The May meeting included lengthy discussions about proposed guidelines for opening the weight room to the public
The Heartland school board met for its May regular meeting on Monday, May 11, at 7 p.m.
Here are the highlights from the meeting, along with the link to the May agenda on the Heartland Community School Website.
Present Board members: Lacey Gloystein, Ryan Goertzen, Jen Hiebner, Jeb Mierau, Tyler Newton, and Tammy Ott.
Administrators present: Superintendent Jeremy Klein, Secondary Principal Tim Carr, and Elementary Principal Dana Reinke.
There were eight others in attendance, including patrons and school teachers. There were no public comments.
Superintendent Klein gave his report, which included information on the junior class’s ACT scores. “They did a fabulous job with pretty high performance. Although standardized tests aren’t the only way to measure learning, these scores are an indication of the good things that are happening in our classrooms,” said Klein.
He also reported plans to work on the HVAC units in the four-room addition, which are experiencing heating problems.
K-6 Playground Project Bids
There was only one bid from Duncan Theice Construction out of Kearney for the project. The submitted bid was $495,300, bringing the project total to around $673,000, according to Superintendent Klein. The school has purchased the playground equipment separately from this bid, and it isn’t included in the $495,300.
“The bid is $8,995 higher than our projected estimates, so that’s not too far off. They have confirmed with us through the architect that they understand the project and schedule and don’t anticipate having any trouble getting things done with a completion date of August 7,” said Klein.
K-12 Social Studies Material Replacement
Lacey Gloystein reported on the committee that reviewed the K-12 social studies material and their meetings with teachers about the curriculum. She said this was probably the best option available and provides teachers with plenty of tools and resources to do a good job. Several board members expressed that any material will contain some bias, and patrons have concerns about the curriculum based on their own biases as well.
“I think our teachers are doing a fantastic job of teaching a firm foundation of true history. Test scores would tell you that, and scores down the road would tell you that we are giving our kids a well-rounded education,” said Tammy Ott. “We need to consider if we are just looking to find an issue when we are really delivering a high-value experience for our kids,”
Weight Room Community Access Guidelines
Superintendent Klein presented the board with a draft of guidelines to open the new weight room to the community for a potential opening in June. Here is the link to view the proposed guidelines.
“We need some guidelines about what’s permitted and what’s not. I’m suggesting we put these in place for now and see how it goes. If we need to adjust them, we can do that,” said Klein.
The discussion centered around the hours the weight room would be available to the public. The guidelines state the weight room will not be available anytime the school is closed.
Klein explained that the reasoning behind that policy is that, in the event of an emergency or any kind of problem, such as mechanical, plumbing, or anything else, there wouldn’t be school personnel on hand to deal with whatever happened.
Another reason for the limited public hours is the need to maintain a separation between when the public may use the facility and when students are present, said Klein. “We are trying to offer as much time and opportunity as possible when our students aren’t using the weight room and when there is staff in the building,” said Klein.
He explained it should be a “quick and seamless procedure” for community members to apply online for access to the weight room. Once approved, they will be provided a PIN to use to open the door. During the warmer months, access will be through the Northwest door, and during the winter months, the Activity Center entrance will be used.
Tyler Newton brought up some information he had obtained from several schools he has contact with through refereeing, regarding their experience with public use of their weight rooms.
“Out of 30 schools I’ve talked to, only 10 are still opening their weight rooms to the public. Those ten love it for the revenue it generates for the school to purchase equipment. But the ones that had to stop were due to criminal activity,” he said. He found other concerns schools had were with local fitness facilities, which felt the school was in competition.
Board members noted that the Henderson Health Care Wellness Center was a very different setup, featuring treadmills and bikes more for PT than the free weights and machines at Heartland.
Klein said he was not interested in charging the public to use a weight room that was included in the bond issue.
Jeb Mierau said he’d like to see the weight room open to the public, but he’d like our guidelines to be more like Hampton’s, which has longer hours, is available on weekends, and charges a fee for use. “I think it should be opened up closer to what Hampton has. And a fear I have is that the policy written is so narrow that nobody will want to use it.”
Klein repeated the motivation behind the limited hours: keeping students and the public separate and addressing safety issues when school is not in session. “There are a dozen other fitness businesses that will take your money if you don’t like our rules,” said Newton.
After further discussion, it was agreed to start with these guidelines as a beginning point and make adjustments as needed. “Let’s walk with this before we run, and see how it goes before we widen the guidelines,” said Lacy Gloystein.
Action Items
The board approved the following: Social Studies Material Update and the playground project bid.
The next regular meeting will be held on Monday, June 8 at 7 p.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:18 p.m.
