HOWELL – Members of the Howell K-8 School District Board of Education have authorized improvements throughout the district.
The playgrounds at the Greenville, Aldrich, Ardena, Griebling, Land O’ Pines, Memorial, Ramtown and Taunton schools will receive new rubber mulch. The total cost of the improvement is $130,000.
Ronald Sanasac, the assistant superintendent for business administration and board secretary, said a mulch product that eventually deteriorated was previously used on the school playgrounds.
That changed “about three years ago when we started a program of replacing (the previous mulch product) with rubber mulch that does not break down and provides a cushion for the safety of our babies,” Sanasac said.
He said some schools are already using the rubber mulch. Howell’s other schools will be converted as needed.
“As it becomes time for the wood mulch to be taken out and fully replaced, we are putting in the rubber mulch, a better product that lasts longer. We are not going in and taking out good mulch and putting in rubber. We are waiting for the wood to degrade to a point where it makes sense,” Sanasac said.
In another project, the gym floors at Middle School North and the Newbury School will be sanded, repainted and finished. The work at Middle School North will cost $26,830 and the work at Newbury will cost $14,252.
“Gym floors are something that get done every five to seven years, they get stripped and refinished. It is not like there is a floor that is damaged, it is part of the routine as the (floors) start chipping. Every year we put a (finishing) coat on, but after awhile it builds up to the point where you have to sand it down to the wood and start over,” Sanasac said.
Middle School South will have its parking lot milled and repaved at a cost of $132,400.
“Parking lots, like any road, eventually have potholes that are too big and it is time to fix them for the safety of our staff,” Sanasac said.
The parking lot at the Southard Community Enrichment Center will be milled and repaved at a cost of $44,000. Land O’ Pines School will have a partial roof replacement at a cost of $522,744.
Among other projects, fire alarms will be replaced at the Aldrich, Ardena, Griebling, Land O’ Pines, Newbury, Ramtown and Taunton schools, at the Southard Community Enrichment Center, and at the district’s maintenance building. The total cost to replace the fire alarms will be $24,660.
Interior doors will be replaced at the Aldrich, Ramtown and Taunton schools, at Middle School North, at Middle School South, at the administration building, and at the maintenance building. The total cost to replace interior doors will be $23,120.
“The doors swell, move, the kids interact with them … things break. We routinely repair them, but there comes a point in time where replacement is the better option,” Sanasac said.
Exterior doors will be replaced at the Land O’ Pines, Aldrich, Taunton and Newbury schools. The total cost to replace five exterior doors is $18,600.
The board authorized the purchase of eight 54-passenger buses at a cost of $706,444. The contract was awarded to Robert H. Hoover and Sons, Flanders. And, the board authorized the purchase of two 20-passenger vans at a cost of $129,150. The contract was awarded to Van-Con, Middlesex. Two wheelchair lift vans were also purchased from Van-Con at a cost of $148,355.