Tahquamenon board weighs repair costs and student staffing changes

By Sterling McGinn

The Tahquamenon Area Schools (TAS) Board of Education held a lengthy discussion at their October regular meeting on preparing the old high school and roofs on the occupied school for the coming winter, which is just around the corner.

Last winter, which was one of the hardest in years, left the district with a number of issues, including flooding inside the shuttered 1926 high school and damage to gas lines on the roof of the currently occupied portion of the facility.

This past April, TAS was forced to close down for four days due to significant snow drifting on the varying roof levels for safety precautions. The snow levels also broke a gas line, which was quickly repaired.

Snow levels on the roof had historically not been a problem for the district.

Inspectors said it’s possible an excessive amount of insulation – the new insulation was put on top of the old – may have prevented snow from melting off the roof.

District Superintendent Shawn Tebo told the board that a representative from Nicolet Plumbing came to assess the issue with the gas lines from last winter.

“He was very surprised on how they failed, because he had used them many times in different projects and had never seen that happen before,” she said. “They did give us a quote on fixing them.”

Tebo said she wants to wait a week to discuss the matter with Berger and King, another plumbing firm form Escanaba, who did the work previously.

Trustee Veronica Edwards said that there are two ways that the gas lines are run on the roof and the representative for Nicolet feels the district should transition the failed system to the system that didn’t fail last winter. She also said that there were connectors that needed extra support.

Discussions also took place regarding shoveling the roof as it is a membrane style, which ordinarily isn’t shoveled.

Discussions then transitioned to the old high school. The building got significant water damage last winter. Pipes had been drained and winterized prior to the start of winter, and the heat was turned off as per the bond proposal. However, electricity is still on in the building due to a necessary internet modem that is still located on that side of the campus.

The water issues stem from the roof drains freezing and water entering the building in other areas. Tebo noted that the district saved approximately $30,000 by not heating the building.

The board has not made a formal decision on the future of the century-old structure.

Edwards, who serves on the facility committee, told of a meeting with a restoration specialist, who is currently working with the restoration of the Catholic Cathedral in Marquette.

“He came down just to give us an idea on whether or not there would be anyone interested in restoring the facade of the old high school so it could be used inside, or if there are material that make up the exterior that might be of interest to anybody.”

During public comment, Greg Rathje followed up on his comments from the previous month’s meeting about the high school roof and about the future of the old high school.

“I think the seven of you need to have a large ongoing conversation with yourselves and the community about the process, not the fate, the process on how you are going to decide on the old high school,” Rathje stated. “Like, what is the deadline? When are your going to decide to knock it down? When are going to decide to sell it?”

Rathje believes it would be beneficial for the board and the school to have a broad conversation about what information that is needed and what options that are being looked at and the pros and cons of each.

“The seven of you talk about them. The budget is usually the most important decision that you make every year, and an even larger decision is when you hire a superintendent. But this is it, the seven of you will be remembered for the rest of your lives in Newberry about how you decided the fate of the high school. Take the time to do it well, bring in outside resources and talk to the community. Don’t default by doing nothing. Don’t default into a decision you may regret.”

Superintendent Tebo asked Rathje if he felt the community had spoken the fate of the high school in the last bond proposal.

“No,” Rathje said. He said he believes the community first voted against past administration and more recent votes were about administration and mismanagement.

“There has never been a question put to the voters about, do they want to save it or do they want to knock it down. Then go back with a second vote saying that we have done the due diligence, we now have your permission to spend money to bring in engineers and architects to bring in real numbers.”

Tebo said that people from 23e, which is a Michigan school funding source, toured the old building and will give information by November 1. They performed an assessment and will tell the school what needs to be done and if funding to tear down or fix the building would be available.

Trustee Bruce Klusmeyer said that after going into the old building several times, he is appalled at the amount of stuff, including furniture, fire extinguishers, mop buckets, cleaning supplies and reems of paper that was left in the closed down building.

“Why are we letting that stuff get destroyed? That is the taxpayer’s money—they paid for all that stuff,” Klusmeyer said. “What can we do to go into that building and move the stuff that is savable out of there.”

The board will look into getting stuff out of the old high school. One suggestion was getting a group of community members to help. Liability would need to be checked first.

In other news, the board discussed the hiring of Kenn Depew as the athletic director following the recent resignation of Dan Hardenbrook.

Depew, a past athletic director, is currently teaching high school chemistry and middle school science. The board expressed concern about Depew not being able to teach chemistry if he moves to the athletic position. They worried students would need to take chemistry online. The board tabled the decision for at least a week.

The board also voted to accept the resignation of Michelle Clark as the Middle School Cross Country Coach and the resignation of Candice Labadie as the High School Yearbook Advisor.

The board also approved three new hires that night.

Kendra Feldhusen will be the Student Data and Reporting specialist, and Molly Willoughby was approved to be a Paraprofessional, Step 1.

Finally, Carley Challender was hired to be the High School Yearbook Advisor.