Prairie du Chien School's Board of Education expects to receive bids for work on the Bluff View building later this week.

The district is supposed to receive contractor bid results this Thursday, June 18, and hold a special meeting to approve bids at 7 a.m. the next morning.

At a meeting on June 8, the Board reviewed the timeline for the remodel, which is scheduled to take place over the summer in anticipation of shutting down the B.A. Kennedy building and moving the 4K through second grade students to Bluff View. Work on the building will include new bathroom facilities, remodeling areas for the younger students and the removal of lockers and cabinets, among other alterations.

Demolition work in Bluff View was scheduled to begin on June 15. Full-construction activities are slated to start by the end of June and last for approximately two months, according to information provided by HSR Associates.

According to the schedule given to the school, the renovated spaces are expected to be "occupied and usable" by the last week in August.

"We have to allow Wieser Brothers to start the demolition to get the project done by Sept. 1, so that's our timeline," said District Administrator Andy Banasik.

Wieser Brothers budget breakdown estimated the total cost to be $650,000. The most expensive line item was the remodel of the restrooms at $315,000, followed by upgrades to the classroom spaces at $250,000. Other, smaller items included a combined estimate for locker removal, shelf and hook installation and other related tasks for $35,000 and work in the library and speech casework areas for $50,000.

Banasik has previously said the project will be paid for using the money made through the sale of two housing properties earlier this year and using the fund district's fund balance.

Jill Henry, Prairie du Chien School's district nurse, gave a report on the previous year to the Board during the meeting.

"This was a busy year for the nurse's office," she told the board at the beginning of her presentation.

The district recorded 6,979 visits to the nurse's office by students with "some kind of issue". Additionally, there were 6,129 instances of students with routine medical needs who used the nursing staff, putting the total number of student contacts with the office at more than 13,000. Henry said the number of nursing office visits was a significant increase over the previous year, in which the total number of contacts was approximately 10,700.

"Less students and more visits. I'm not sure what I can account that to, but that's a lot of kids coming into our nurses' offices," said Henry.

Her report claims there were two medication errors that took place during the year. The district's medication accuracy is over 99 percent. Henry said that leaves room for improvement.

The nursing staff made four referrals from the hearing screening in 4K through 5th grade, and there were 24 referrals from the vision screening in 3K through 8th grade.

Henry said more than 150 students and staff received their flu vaccine this past year.

Scenic Bluffs conducted two dental programs for the students and completed 238 exams. The treatments didn't cost the students anything, according to Henry.

Henry said the school has developed a rapid-response team to assist in emergency situations.

"These are people [who] are medical experts or anything like that," she said. "If I have an emergency and I call the rapid response team, these are people [who] can come help me."

Members of the team can assist by clearing the area and calling parents or emergency services, among other tasks.

In attendance were board members Dustin Brewer, Justin Campbell, Kyle Maahs, Lacie Anthony, Michael Higgins, Jr., Nick Gilberts and Noah White. Banasik and the district principals were also present.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for July 13.

Chantel Lynch, high school art teacher; Jessica Sanders, ELA teacher; Greta Volberding, music and instrumental teacher; and Dawn Stevenson, food service floater.

Resignations

Meg Shroeder, Bluff View custodian; Emilee Snyder, teacher's aide; Dawn Stevenson, food service; and Michelle Elliot, food service.

• the summer school production of The Swan Princess is scheduled to hit the stage at the PAAC on July 30 at 6 p.m.
• approved an agreement to work with Jennifer Wagner as the district's food service director. Wagner is also employed at the Cassville School District in the same role. Banasik said Wagner has done "a tremendous job" in working with the Department of Public Instruction and an audit done in the previous year.
• set next year's graduation date for Friday, May 21, 2027.