Hurley School lifts mask mandate

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Hurley — The Hurley Public School Board lifted the mask mandate on Monday with instructions to the administration to monitor pandemic guidance recommendations leading into the next academic year in the fall.

The action was effective immediately following a 5-0 vote. The school board and around a dozen others present for the regular meeting removed their face coverings — something that hadn’t been done at the meetings since the pandemic order started in March 2020.

The board action included language to follow quarantine guidance for close contacts with anyone who tested positive for COVID-19. The guidance will continue to come from recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Iron County Health Department.

The circumstances have changed including the fact that 90% of staff are now vaccinated, said school administrator Kevin Genisot. In-school learning was possible all year by maintaining a safety protocol even when it became more restrictive than the CDC’s revised guidance with three months remaining in the school year, he said.

“Now we are following the CDC on the quarantining piece,” Genisot said. “We will continue to monitor before school starts but if nothing changes or there is no other action of the board, the school year will start in the fall without masking.”

The lifting of face covering policy also applies to the summer Kid’s Club and the school in general. If there are no changes by August, then masking will remain optional for the 2021-22 school year. If a parent wants a child to wear a mask, or if a staff member wants to wear a mask, they are allowed to do so as an option and not a mandate, he said.

The school board 5-0 approved the 2021-2022 preliminary annual budget. Genisot responded to concerns that there appeared to be a $158,000 deficit by noting that around $800,000 in the budget are one-time expenses to be funded with anticipated stimulus and state aid funding.

“It’s different from any typical year our school district has ever had and we still don’t know what the state budget is yet,” Genisot said. “That has yet to be determined.”

There are options with how to pay some expenses and particularly one-time expenses that come up throughout the year, he said. The general cash fund balance is about $3 million but that is deceiving because about $1.5 million is outstanding for payroll and other expenses while waiting for state aid.

The $400,000 school computer upgrade program was typically taken from school investment accounts, he said. For this round the school district will use general fund revenue with anticipated stimulus cash to replenish it later — rather than take it from interest bearing investment accounts that are currently earning about 5% interest.

The total funds in all three school district investment accounts were at $1,962,910 as of June 15, as compared to $1,919,955 on Jan. 30. The parking lot fund investment was at $429,517 on June 15, compared to $411,295 on Jan. 30.

The school district will also pay its $175,000 share of the science lab infrastructure costs from the cash fund balance rather than using the investment accounts of non-taxpayer funds, he said. The board accepted the Hurley Education Foundation offer to provide $125,000 to complete the lab project to include a teachers list of educational items for use inside the lab.

Foundation president Gary Pelkola, who was present at the meeting, said the foundation wanted to provide $123,000 in funding for the teachers list of around $65,000 of items and the furniture for the lab at around $58,000.

“We would like to purchase everything that is inside the room,” Pelkola said. “...We’ve got to thank all the alumni for giving us their money. It’s easy to spend their money.”

Construction of the science lab is on schedule to be completed by August, Genisot said. However, manufacturer orders are behind due to the pandemic and the specialized furniture for the lab, such as the gas and water tables, that are not expected to arrive until early or mid 2022.

“In the meantime, we will set up tables,” Genisot said.

Following an executive session the school board 3-2 approved a 2% across the board annual raise for all 80 school district employees and administrators. School Board president Leslie Kolesar and treasurer Kathy Saari voted against.

The board approved a $3,951 low bid from Nasi Construction Inc. to install a tennis court at Memorial Field. The second bid was from Angelo Luppino Inc.

Memorial Field currently has three tennis courts and one basketball court, Genisot said. The project will remove one tennis court to install a second basketball court, he said.

Action Floor Systems, of Mercer, is contracted to do the painting of the tennis and basketball courts, he said. In addition, the company said it would paint the track and tennis courts at the school at no extra cost.

In other business, the school board approved the first readings of the student handbook, and the athletic handbook with some proposed changes.