by Mari Radtke
The South O’Brien School Board met Wednesday July 17 in regular session. Superintendent Wade Riley reported to the board and got approval to partner with the MMCRU School District for the purchase of a painter robot. The painter robot is a tool used to paint fields, parking lots and more. It requires just 1 person to operate and is said to use less paint. Painting the football field currently requires at least 3 people and takes several hours. The tool is programmed to place paint via GPS. The joint venture will cost South O’Brien $3300 per year for 6 years. The district had looked at a model at another time that carried a price tag of $80,000.
Riley reported that the dry weather has allowed a lot of work to move forward. The locker rooms are expected to be substantially done by October 3. Ceiling and framing with electrical inspection is underway at Primghar. The Paullina west gym ceiling is getting painted. The new location for a concession stand will not have water by the start of school. Additional work needs to be done before the water lines and drain lines can be utilized. About 100 yards of concrete has been poured for parking. Utilities need to be installed. Parking lot markings will come later. Work with the Paullina is underway to create a safe student access route from the parking lot to the north door.
The requirement to use block wall instead of steel at the connections from old to new have not yet gotten and estimate but is believed to be a change that will put the project contingencies close to used in full. The board was cautioned that contingencies in Paullina could be exceeded.
Music Boosters and Athletic Boosters are once again funding the purchase of activity passes for all 7-12 students. It’s believed that this gift helped increase student attendance at events.
The truancy policy will change. Currently the state needs to put out guidance in how the new law is to be enforced. A meeting between Riley, High School Principal Denise Phillips and County Attorney Katie Morgan is to take place to discuss compliance.
SOS served 26,000 free breakfasts during the 2024 school year. Staff believes that was excellent and a great investment in the students. The benefit was adopted for the 2025 school year. Summer lunches are going to about 120 students a day.
School board meetings will return to 3rd Mondays at 6:30pm beginning in August.