Facility upgrades in East Union’s future

From facilities assessments to upgraded furnaces, a look at updating the grounds and internals of the East Union building took place during their regular meeting last Monday.

The first of these decisions was approved for immediate work, with a furnace replacement in the district’s middle school hallway. Replacement won’t take long; one technician will be hired over 14 hours (1.5 days) to accomplish the task.

The cost for the project, involving purchasing a new furnace, sheet metal and other miscellaneous materials, totals $9,367.30.

The second, and one which has been discussed over a few meetings, was approving a facilities assessment to create a schedule of prioritized projects. Denovo Construction Solutions had first offered their services to the district in August 2024, but the matter was tabled until it was revisited this month.

This time around, East Union approved the facilities assessment. Denovo, upon completion of their facility condition assessment, will be paid $12,500 for 90 days of analysis. Included in Denovo’s package is a planning assessment to create plans for payment for any facility upgrades Denovo recommends.

The district hopes to use a new GO bond, with their current GO bond scheduled to go off book this summer. The voting public would have to approve a new bond. Superintendent Tim Kuehl noted a list of facilities he wishes to see updated, from the wrestling room to common areas, leaving Denovo to create a prioritized list.

In other East Union news...

As part of a regular annual motion, East Union approved a budget guarantee resolution for the next fiscal year. This allows for the district, if regular program cost will decrease due to declining enrollment and/or low allowable growth, to guarantee a budget of 101% the preceding year. Iowa law allows this to be done by levying property taxes if necessary.

Updates to the district’s 400 policy series, which covers employee operations, contracts and qualifications, were read. Kuehl said updates were based on recommended policies from the Iowa Association of School Boards.

East Union passed the ability for the superintendent, as of now Kuehl, to approve and sign all special educational contracts from other local education agencies.

Nine high school football helmets were approved to be disposed.

East Union throughout February will be performing interviews with candidates for their superintendent, a joint position shared with Murray School District. Kuehl will retire at the end of this school year. A presentation of candidates will take place during a closed meeting on Feb. 11, with other interviews (also during closed meetings) on Feb. 17 and Feb. 24.

The following contracts were approved:

Tessa Hull, secondary para; Katie McGahuey, secondary teacher; Kelsie Claisure, student helper (Pre-K and school age).