Plum School Board Discusses Pivik Construction, Softball Fields and Rank Policy

Here's a roundup of items discussed at Plum School Board's facilities, policy and education committee meetings on July 19.

High School Softball Field
   
Work on the high school softball fields could cost more than anticipated.

Dana Steadman, L. Robert Kimball architect, said additional storm water management needed on the site would increase estimates from the $237,000 to $288,000 range to $261,000 to $332,000.

"Hopefully, the project will be within the budget range," he said.

A prebid meeting was held last week for contractors who were interested in submitted bids for the work. Bids will be opened on Aug. 4.

School board member Tom McGough said the board would try to schedule a special voting meeting at the beginning of August to award bids and get a head start on the project, which should be completed by Nov. 30.

Pivik Construction Update

Construction at the new Pivik Elementary School is going well, said Dennis Russo, an independent contractor serving as the district representative for construction.

He said construction crews have dug building footers and filled them with concrete. Steel beams and columns also were delivered to the site early.

Russo said unsuitable fill material, which was unexpectedly found at the site last month, is in the process of being moved from the site. As of last week, about 50 percent of it had been moved.

"the site is starting to look really, really nice," Russo said. "I'm very pleased. Things are moving smoothly despite the situations we were faced with."

He said crews are working on two classroom wings at the moment and a roof should be in place by late November.

Class Rankings

Class rankings won't be assigned to students if a new policy is approved.

Plum High School principal Ryan Kociela said because of the new Keystone Exmas, which will impact a student's class grade, students could have several different ranks in between the time the tests are taken and after the retakes of the test are scheduled.

He said several schools have moved away from the ranking system because it could be viewed as a disservice to students who have very good grades. For example, in a district where students perform very well, a certain student could have a lower rank despite having a grade point average that's very good.

Kociela said under the new policy, the district would provide an estimated rank for students when colleges request them, but the ranks will not be a part of the student's official transcript.