NR-S to start school short on bus drivers

Boilers and bus drivers were the hot topics of conversation when the New Rockford-Sheyenne Board of Education met via Zoom on Monday, August 9.

School is ready to start, and all the teachers are accounted for. Classrooms are ready under direction of newly appointed Custodial Manager Tori Dockter. The Board of Education has even planned a BBQ for Back-to-School Night on Monday, August 23. But, it has been a challenge this summer to secure bus route drivers.

The problem is finding a licensed bus driver who owns his or her own bus. Superintendent Dr. Jill Louters stated, “Where the school stands right now is we are in need of covering the southwest bus route.” Currently private contractors, Jeff Labrensz and Jim Fleming, are on board with their buses ready to go. Retired driver Robert Hanson and his wife Diane have signed on temporarily with their bus to start the school year.

The school does have access to the mini bus, and the new handicap-accessible bus, and there are a few staff members willing to secure the necessary licensing to operate these buses on a route. The real problem is that using either of these buses on a daily bus route takes them out of operation for extracurricular activities, which was the purpose for procuring those buses.

Dr. Louters presented one solution - if the school owned a bus to use for routes, then they would be free to search for an employee to drive, rather than a contractor who owns a bus. Another solution is to hire two part-time bus drivers, perhaps one for the morning route and the other for the afternoon route. This flexibility, Louters posited, may make it easier to find community members interested in driving.

Board Member Mike Schaefer expressed concern about hiring part-time drivers with minimal experience. He wanted to make sure that just because the school owned a route bus, and just because someone obtained the proper licensing, that the board wouldn’t just “put them behind the wheel with our kids.”

“There is a difference between taking a written test, heck, a driving test, getting a license and doing a good job,” he said. “As parents, we put our kids on a bus and send them out to the middle of somewhere, in a snowstorm, for some activity and don’t think twice, because our bus drivers have years of experience,” he said.

It was agreed that some sort of mentoring program, like a “ride along” in the harsh winter months, could be arranged with more experienced, or even retired drivers. Once this plan was established, the board agreed to purchase a bus from retired bus driver Linus Allmaras, for $6,500. This bus seats 53 and has a new engine, which was installed in February 2019.

Dr. Louters asked the board to reach out to community members who may be interested in a bus driving adventure, and encourage them to contact the NR-S school.

Four mechanical contractors submitted bids for the boiler replacement project. Burnn Boiler and Mechanical submitted a base bid of $517,453. Klemetsrud Plumbing and Heating bid was $455,000, Lunseth Plumbing and Heating came in at $600,000, and Minot Plumbing and Heating’s bid totaled $469,313. At the board’s request, Lucas Niess from Prairie Engineering reached out to the contractors who submitted bids and requested a list of past boiler projects they have done. All but Klemetsrud Plumbing and Heating have responded.

Lunseth Plumbing and Heating definitely had the most experience, but were also the most expensive. Burnn Boiler also seemed quite capable, but was again among the highest bidders. Klemetsrud Plumbing submitted the lowest bid, but did not provide boiler replacement references.

Dr. Louters contacted one elementary school from the list of references Minot Heating and Plumbing submitted. Her contact indicated that they were very pleased with the work that was done. Over and above everything, Minot had excellent communication throughout the project.

Based on the fact that this project will be completed while school is in session, communication is key. Board member Mike Jacobson wants the boiler project to move forward, so he brought forth a motion to accept the bid from Minot Heating and Plumbing.

Board member Patti Larson, on the other hand, said she still feels the board should wait until next year, and reiterated her concerns about the impact the second gym project might have and the risk of replacing boilers in the middle of winter.

As President Mary Kay Price called for a vote on the motion to move forward with Minot Plumbing and Heating, Jeff Klemetsrud (who this reporter assumes represents the bidding boiler firm Klemetsrud Plumbing and Heating) chimed into the meeting requesting to speak.

Price informed Mr. Klemetsrud that he had missed his opportunity for public comment, which is done at the beginning of each meeting. Klemstrud replied that he was “unfamiliar with that format” and continued speaking.

He stated, “Because I was the low bidder, and Prairie Engineering didn’t have a problem with me… ah, you’re going to vote somebody who’s gonna cost more money? Is that what I am hearing? And if that’s the case, fine. We will probably hire an attorney and put an injunction on, because this engineer did not disqualify us, and you guys are spending more money.”

N.D. Century Code states that although a governing shall award the bid to the “lowest responsible bidder...,” they “may reject any and all bids and readvertise for bids if no bid is satisfactory, or if the governing body determines any agreement has been entered by the bidders or others to prevent competition.”

In the end, the board voted to accept the bid from Minot Plumbing & Heating.

Building committee member Mike Jacobson told the Transcript Tuesday that he voted to move forward with Minot Plumbing and Heating because he was more comfortable working with them, knowing that other schools had a positive experience. He also repeated his statements from the meeting regarding the level of communication the Minot firm provided, citing that the company chosen would be completing the project during the school year, with students present in the building.

In more positive news, board members approved the 2022 preliminary budget, which is essentially flat compared to last year. Officials propose a 0.15 mill decrease, for a total of $1,638,592.34.

The general fund will remain at 70 mills, or $1,147,922.51; the miscellaneous fund levy was decreased to 6.28 mills, or $103,000. The 10 mill building fund levy is expected to collect $163,988.93, and the debt service levy will remain unchanged at 13.64 mills, or $223,680.90.

Since there is no proposed increase, there will not be a budget hearing for the school this year.

Several staff members approached Dr. Louters regarding a grant opportunity from the State of North Dakota, which provides $500 for equipment purchases supporting a ‘lactation room.’ Currently, staff use a former coach’s office as a lactation room, and it could really use some tender loving care. Grant dollars could be used to purchase a comfortable chair and small refrigerator, for example. The board wholeheartedly approved the adoption of a lactation policy, which allows NR-S to access this grant.

At last month’s board meeting, a discussion was held regarding Pre-K tuition fees. A decision was made to put together a working group to fully investigate and identify funding options supporting the district’s Pre-K program. Alyson Myhre has volunteered to represent the board.

Lori Demester will represent Pre-K and Tasha Skogen will represent the Kindergarten. Three parents, two from Pre-K and one from the Kindergarten will be asked to join this committee as school begins. This committee plans to bring recommendations regarding tuition and funding options to the board at its December meeting.