MITCHELL — The Mitchell School Board Monday night singled out the roofs of the district’s buildings as a priority to keep an eye on going forward.
During the discussion by Wade Pogany and Dakota Educational Consulting, the board held an informal straw vote to determine which projects the Mitchell School District should prioritize in the coming years, allowing administrators to make more decisions at a later date. I expected him to come back to the board with a lot of information. And details. This discussion was held as part of a special meeting work session of the Board of Directors.
The roofs at Mitchell Middle School and Gertie Bell Rogers Elementary School, as well as the Mitchell Career Technical Education Academy (MCTEA), were among the issues that rose to the top of the list.
“We had a good conversation,” Childs told The Mitchell Republic after the meeting. “We looked at the top five in order of priority, and the roof was definitely at the top of what the board wanted to see happen.”
Childs listed a number of facility and infrastructure needs within the district before the vote, with roofing at L.B. Williams Elementary School, Mitchell Middle School, Gertie Bell Rogers Elementary School and the MCTEA building listed as top needs. District officials say the roof in question is at or near the end of its useful life.
The board selected the highest needs among these and determined that the roofs at Gertie Bell Rogers Elementary School, Mitchell Middle School, and MCTEA were the ones most in need. The roof work at Gertie Belle Rogers is estimated to cost $600,000, and similar work needed at Mitchell Middle School is estimated to cost $145,000. A job at MCTEA is estimated to cost approximately $435,000.
The board took no formal action at the meeting other than an informal poll to prioritize the needs of the district. Childs, along with his fellow administrators, including John Seeberding, the district’s director of buildings and grounds, and Theresa Kriese, the district’s business manager, took the board’s feedback and put it into paper. He said he would put pen to paper and see how district leaders could make the idea a reality. board action.
“(We’ll) get some of the responsible parties together and look at how they approach this and want to get that part right. So this is just like any other project moving forward. As we move through these processes, we can expect things to become clearer in (future) board meetings and board agendas,” Childs said.
A number of buildings within the district were considered for current needs. Includes:
Mitchell Junior High School
Gymnasium lighting upgrades, $28,000 roof replacement, $145,000 art classroom cabinets, $120,000 technology upgrades and concrete repairs.
The total cost required is approximately $393,000, including air conditioning and technology upgrades.
longfellow elementary school
Flashing replacement, $45,000.
Total costs will be approximately $45,000 plus air conditioning.
LB Williams Elementary School
Concrete replacement of front entrance, $45,000.
Total costs will be approximately $45,000 plus air conditioning.
Gertie Bell Rogers Elementary School
roof repairs, $600,000; playground upgrades, $15,000;
The total requirement will be approximately $615,000.
early childhood learning center
New playground equipment, $60,000.
The total cost required is approximately $60,000, including interior upgrades.
Mitchell Career and Technical Education Academy
roof replacement, $435,000;
The total cost required is approximately $435,000, plus the possibility of replacing the windows. Joe Quintal Stadium was said to include railing repairs, caulking and the possibility of adding a turf field, but those costs had not yet been determined.
The estimated total cost for the current required work on the main learning center building in the district is approximately $1,593,000, including additional upgrades, although the total cost has not yet been determined.
Childs broke down short-term goals, or goals that could be accomplished over the next five years, such as upgrading the air conditioning and lighting in the Mitchell Middle School gymnasium and improving the art classrooms. Air conditioning has been installed in the gymnasium at LB Williams Elementary School. New play equipment and interior upgrades at the Early Childhood Learning Center. MCTEA preventive maintenance, window and HVAC upgrades, and roof replacements at LB Williams Elementary School, Mitchell Middle School, Gertie Bell Rogers Elementary School and MCTEA.
Long-term goals included possible construction of a new middle school, continued upgrades to lighting and air conditioning efficiency, and infrastructure improvements for MCTEA that could be accomplished over the next 10 years.
School board member Deb Olson said roofs are a priority given the varying conditions of roofs and the impact they have on buildings and the learning that takes place within them.
“I would argue that the Gertie Bell Rogers roof, the MCTEA roof, the middle school roof are the keys to making it happen. The middle school roof is already starting to fail,” Olson said.
Mitchell School Board Chairwoman Brittni Flood agreed.
“I think that’s going to be number one,” Flood said.
When it comes to budgeting for such work, setting priority goals allows boards and managers to re-prioritize funds and projects as needed, depending on cost and critical improvement needs. You can. The district will have more money available for such projects in the coming years as it reduces debt service from other recent projects.
The district will receive approximately $433,155 in capital expenditure funds to be committed to such projects in the 2025-26 school year and $567,760 in the 2026-27 school year, after debt service and other budgetary concerns are resolved. $1,101,525 is slated for the 2027-2027 school year. 28 academic year, $1,166,040 for the 2028-29 school year and $1,335,425 for the 2029-30 school year.
The more governments look into the specific costs of important projects like roofing, the better they will know what needs can be met and when.
“If it’s within your budget, you might be able to put in air conditioning now, or do a repainting project or a landscaping project. We can take care of that,” Childs said. “Or, if it’s over budget, maybe things that are less important or have a slightly longer lifespan can be postponed to another year,” Childs said.
