HURON — School Board members Monday night voted to approve letting bids for CTE and high school expansions, as well as replacing the roof on the high school and middle school, updating the high school kitchen and renovating the FACS room.

Total costs of future projects is estimated at $5 million, business manager Kelly Christopherson told the board.

The projects will be funded through Capital Outlay Certificates and grant funding.

Bids will be advertised on Sept. 27 and Oct. 1, with bid opening on Oct. 17. The earliest construction could begin would be Dec. 1. “Whatever the start date is, add 11 months to have a completed project,” Christopherson said.

The district has grown by 120 students, from an enrollment last year of 2,950 students to 3,070 on count day this year.

Christopherson outlined the renovations and building projects that have taken place over the past 20 years, starting with renovations to Huron Arena in 2005 to completing renovations to create secure entrances to the middle and high schools to reflect elementary schools in 2019.

Growth in the district is always welcomed, but current instructional facilities are running at capacity, Christopherson said.

Elementary schools were built for 250 students in each grade, and current enrollment in K-5 is 1,397. The middle school was built in 1999 to teach 250 students in each grade, and currently they have an enrollment of 722. The high school, which was built in 1967 houses an average of 230 students per grade.

“We’re planning for the future,” Christopherson said. “We’re considering approaches to address the needs one at a time or multiple at once.

“If we get too big, we have to build on,” he said. “Elementary and auxiliary services, like special ed and ESL don’t have room to operate today. The transportation department keeps growing, we can’t get everyone inside.”

Future plans are to update scoreboards at the arena and Tiger Stadium, replace boiler and air conditioning at McKinley School, the boiler at the middle school, and to make repairs to sidewalks and parking lots and upgrade underground water and sewer pipes. Total future projects are estimated to cost $5 million.

Jolene Konechne, director of ESL and CTE, told board members about an event partnering with Huron Public Library to encourage reading.

“The last three years we had Reading Bingo, where a student read with a family member or to a pet,” Konechne said. “I reached out to the library and we have a family fun engagement day planned on Saturday, Oct. 12, come and go from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.”

Spanish and Karen interpreters will be available, with tours of the library planned each hour, learning stations for various grade levels, a scavenger hunt, and a free book for each child to take home.

According to the library, this will be the first multi-lingual story hour to be held. Members of Huron Youth Leadership Council and Key Club will be asked to help read stories during the event.

Oct. 12 is also during the annual Scarecrow Festival in Campbell Park.

Supt. Dr. Kraig Steinhoff said the full administrative group including resource officers from the district will meet today, Sept. 24, with School Safety Specialist Angela Waldner. She will speak on the S.D. School Safety Center and how they can assist them to ensure school safety.

Steinhoff also congratulated members of the homecoming court: Blut Kue Ler, AnneClaire Robish, Aurora Dreyer, Allison Janes, Emma DeJong, TJ Lien, Conner Hofer, Kolby Hofer, Moses Gross and Micah Larson.

National Principal Month is October, and School Custodian Appreciation Day is Oct. 2.

It was announced that middle school parent-teacher conferences will be Thursday, Sept. 26, from 3:30 to 6:45 p.m., and high school conferences will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30.

In other action the board:
• Approved 12 new hires to the district.
• Approved 5 resignations, including from 40-year teacher Mitch Gaffer, who will retire at the end of this school year.