The Kewanee School District was updated Monday on three construction projects in the district.
— The board accepted the $98,700 bid of Hein Construction of Peoria for work on the new outdoor fitness court at Kewanee High School.
The work will include pouring a concrete slab for the court, as well as installing electrical service and a sidewalk.
— Supt. Rebecca Baney reported that the repair work to the roof at Central School is finally nearing completion.
The roof was damaged in last July’s tornado, but repairs have been stalled by disputes among the school district, its architects and the district’s insurance company over who was going to pay for the repairs.
— A setback has occurred in the effort to replace the rooftop air conditioning units for Petersen Auditorium at Kewanee High School.
The plan is to replace the existing air conditioning units with new ones. But Baney reported that the new units weigh more than the old ones, and the roof might not be able to support the additional weight.
One alternative would be to install the units under the roof instead of on it, but Baney said that could add $45,000 to the cost of the project.
The district’s architect is working on a solution to the problem, she said, but it’s likely that the auditorium won’t be air-conditioned this summer.
The board also heard a proposal from Gold Star FS to provide fuel for school buses.
Gold Star would install a 2,500-gallon tank at Kewanee High School at no cost to the district.
The fuel supply system would be computerized, requiring bus drivers to enter the mileage on the bus before a bus could be fueled.
The Kewanee School District uses from 55,000 to 60,000 gallons of bus fuel each school year, board members learned.
In his annual report to the board, Jeff Johnson — who is the director of the Kewanee Schools Foundation as well as president of the school board — said that this year the foundation awarded more than $150,000 to KHS graduates.
Fifty-two of the 127 graduates received at least one scholarship, Johnson said.
