The Audubon School District’s Board of Education met Monday evening. Superintendent Brett Gibbs said the Board approved final approval to some summer projects, including tuck pointing at the Elementary School, and replacement of fencing around the exterior of the football field and track.

The Board also talked about future remodeling of the 5th through 12th grade building. About 12-years ago, the district added some rooms onto the back of the building to bring the 5th and 6th grade up, but Gibbs said the rest of the building has not had much done to it since 1964. He said “It’s time, basically starting with our HVAC system. The building currently has steam heat, the pipes for which are leaking. Gibbs said they’ve been told the boilers “are on the downhill side” of their life, with another 10-years of use at the most before they need to be replaced. “So it’s time to starting looking at ways we can upgrade our facility here and make it more energy efficient, and maintain the condition of the building.”

He said the will be in discussion with Engie Engineering on the potential costs and how the potential project could be paid for. The Audubon School Board also set Student Fees for the FY 2020 School Year. Gibbs said also parents should be aware the District is switching to a different provider for parents to use credit cards online for student fees, including lunches and books. He said there will be a fee charged to the user, which will in-turn charge persons who use credit cards for those purchases…much like an ATM fee.

The new provider is JMC, which has the districts student information system, and costs less than the current provider. With regard to student lunch fees, Brett Gibbs said the price of student and adult lunches increased 5-cents, and the cost of junior high mesh jerseys went from $22 to $25.

In other business, the Audubon School Board discussed student drop-off and pick-up at the Elementary School. Gibbs said they have some safety concerns, mainly in the morning. “EMC Insurance sent out a traffic [flow] expert come out and make suggestions on ways to improve the flow.” Those suggestions included proper markings on the pick-up and drop-off areas, and having the buses drop-off in a different location in the morning. If that doesn’t help, the next step is to look at putting a whole new bus pick-up and drop-off area on the east side, which would likely cost around $50,000. But they want to try all other ideas first, according to Gibbs.