Carrollton approves asbestos abatement at high school

By Editor | February 2, 2022 |

By Carmen Ensinger

Carrollton School Board members approved the abatement of asbestos on the second floor of the high school building, everywhere except in the library. The asbestos removal will be done in the floor area.

“We are going to do the hallways, the classrooms and down the stairs,” Carrollton Superintendent Mark Halwachs said. “We are not doing the library at this time because we are going to store everything in there. It will be used as a storage area and when we get another grant will go back and do it.”

The cost of the project is approximately $160,000, and a portion of it is being paid for through a State of Illinois Construction Matching Grant.

“We received a $50,000 matching grant from the State for this project,” Halwachs said. “The bigger the projects are, the better the chances are we will get another grant next year. So instead of just spending the $100,000 we want to get as much done as we can so hopefully, they will offer the grants again and we will knock out the ground level floor and then we will only have the library to do. That is my goal.”

Halwachs was asked how the district is spending their Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) 3 grant funding. Carrollton received approximately $950,000 in grant funding.

“We are on the very of spending the last of ESSER 3 money,” he said. “We have a major project at the elementary school to upgrade the remaining HVAC down the 5th through 8th grade hall. We are going to put in bipolar ionizers to improve the air quality to take the sickness out of the air and put new HVAC units in.”

According to Halwachs, the current units are starting to fail and they are not going to fix them this year.

Instead, they will be replaced this summer after school breaks for summer. The cost of this project is approximately $450,000 with $375,000 of the cost of the project coming from ESSER 3 money.

ESSER 3 money was also used to put bipolar ionization units in at the high school, as well as doing spring and fall service maintenance on the high school HVAC system.

One of the requirements of the ESSER 3 funding is that 20 percent of it must be used for such things as curriculum, summer school, enrichment programs, etcetera.

“We are going to use our 20 percent for some before and after school summer camps starting this summer for both buildings,” Halwachs said. “Plus, we are going to be buying some new curriculum items.”

The board approved a tuition waiver for industrial arts teacher Luke Spainhoward for his daughter to attend kindergarten at Carrollton.

The board also approved for approximately 30 students in the Future Business Leaders of America club to attend the State Conference in Springfield, along with their sponsor, Jenna Heck, on April 1-2.

Two resignations were accepted – one from teacher’s assistant Meghan Field, who resigned over Christmas break to take another job, and one from Shelly Watts at the grade school who didn’t give a reason for her resignation from her position as a grade school interventionalist.

The board recognized its three Illinois State Scholars: Wes Bland, William Jackson Cotner and Callie McAdams. Laina Bennett was recognized as the first student from Carrollton to graduate from the Lewis and Clark CNA program offered at North Greene.

“I think that is pretty cool,” Halwachs said. “I wish we could get more kids to participate in that program that they offer up there.”

Following closed session, the board hired the following:
■ Miranda McCoy as science teacher.
■ Jean McCoy as grade school interventionalist.
■ Erin Weinmann, assistant volunteer pee wee basketball coach.
■ Luke Nolan, assistant volunteer high school/middle school trap coach.
■ John Adcock, assistant volunteer high school/middle school trap coach.
■ Amelia Uhles, assistant volunteer high school softball coach.
■ Dana Grafford, assistant volunteer high school softball coach.
■ Nicole Kaiser, assistant volunteer junior high volleyball coach.