Jefferson eyes October gym completion

TOM PINNEY/DAILY FORUM
The interior of the new Jefferson C-123 School Gymnasium, is shown still under construction. Crews have finished laying the floors, and as of Monday, started to install the bleachers. Superintendent Tim Jermain estimates the gym will be ready to use around the week of Oct. 23, a timeline which requires the district to move only one event from the new gymnasium.

Jefferson’s gymnasium is nearing completion.

After an ongoing saga of pushed-back deadlines, missing materials and a series of unfortunate and unavoidable events, Jefferson C-123 superintendent Tim Jermain informed the district’s Board of Education that the gym is set to be complete the week of Oct. 23.

As of Monday, the crews finished laying the wood floors and were to begin putting up the bleachers, a project that should be finished before the week is out. After that, Jermain said, the crews will return to sand and finish the floor, which should take around 10 days including weekends.

After allowing the floor to set and dry, Jermain said, the gymnasium would be ready and available to use. This timeline only required the district to move one event previously scheduled to take place in the new gym: a junior high basketball game set for Oct. 16.

Jermain said Jefferson has a cooperative agreement with South Nodaway for junior high basketball, so the teams alternate home games. The schools agreed to host the Oct. 16 game at South Nodaway in exchange for a later game which will be moved from South Nodaway to Jefferson.

The gym project was not expected to affect the high school basketball team at all, as practices for that sport are set to begin Oct. 30.

During the meeting, the district considered the possibility of becoming the ACES fiscal agent starting with the 2018-2019 school year. Jermain said Jefferson and Mound City are the only districts currently in the running to take over the special services cooperative when Maryville officially withdraws at the end of this school year.

Jermain said, based on current numbers — a $6,300 contingency to pay the agent, plus a $1,000 per district fee being paid this year to Maryville for serving as the agent — the Jefferson district could see an additional $24,000 in revenue should they be chosen as the fiscal agent.

The board still supported becoming the ACES fiscal agent. The cooperative schools are to meet again in October to make a final decision.

Also during the meeting, the board approved extending its contract with Web School Tools for paperless school board meetings one more year at a price of $600.

The next meeting of the Jefferson C-123 School Board is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18.