By Sterling McGinn
New faces will be visible in the athletic department of Tahquamenon Area Schools (TAS) in the coming days.
Three new hires were approved by the board of education at their November regular meeting on Monday, November 17 at 6 p.m. in the board chambers.
Approximately 10 members of the public were in attendance.
For the coaching staff, Quin Curley was hired to serve as the JV girls’ basketball coach. Ryan Conklin was also approved to become the middle school girls’ basketball coach.
Dan Hardenbrook was hired to fill the vacant athletic director position (see related article). He was one of three who applied for the job.
During public comment, TAS Public Library Director Ross Wine commended the school custodial staff and maintenance department for their performance around the facility.
“In the aftermath of the construction projects of 2024, your library has observed improvement in the quality of service received from the maintenance and custodial department over that of previous years,” he said. “Response time to issues has dramatically improved, work is performed in a higher degree of quality and Brad and his team regularly engage with us.”
In other news, the board voted to purchase classroom smart boards with grant funds.
Smartboards are essentially interactive whiteboards. Teachers can “write” using digital ink, and computer functions can be controlled by touching the screen of the smartboard.
In a previous meeting, District Superintendent Shawn Tebo explained that TAS is one of very few schools that didn’t yet use smartboards. The board tabled the matter initially due to the cost.
The new technology will be purchased by the Section 31a At-Risk grant at a cost of $88,178.
In her administrative report, Tebo said that the roof on the old 1927 high school was recently reviewed.
“We had three bids for the roof and come to find out, it isn’t as bad as we thought,” Tebo said.
Brad Huffman from the maintenance department will fix the holes in the roof for the time being. Tebo said she hadn’t heard back from Senator Slotkin’s office regarding on a grant for replacing the roof.
An individual was found to repair the leaking windows in the new high school. Tebo said that the individual will provide the district with a three-to-five-year plan.
