WHITEHALL — Whitehall District Schools Superintendent CJ Van Wieren presented a two-phase plan at Monday's regular school board meeting for the implementation of district improvements, to be funded by the issuance of bonds that district voters approved last November.
The two phases will take place over the summers of 2027 and 2028. Van Wieren said the district originally hoped to get some of the work done this coming summer, but due to schedules - some work would have carried into next school year - and associated cost issues, the idea was abandoned.
Instead, the first phase of the improvements will begin in summer 2027, focusing on the middle school and Ealy Elementary buildings, as well as addressing parking at Shoreline Elementary. Those two buildings will be first because the heat and air conditioning systems at those buildings are considered in the most jeopardy of failing, which if it occurred could force multi-week school closures, Van Wieren said. He added that the district has a team in place maintaining the current systems in those buildings and everyone "will have their fingers crossed" that such measures aren't necessary.
The second phase of the improvements will take place in summer 2028, addressing the rest of the plans at Shoreline and those at the high school, including the installation of a secured entrance at the latter.
Design phases, Van Wieren said, are underway for the summer 2027 work, and the district hopes to obtain bids by the fall. In addition to the HVAC replacements, furniture, technology, electrical and other improvements are included in the work planned at those buildings.
The board gave unanimous approval to an updated puberty education curriculum for fourth and fifth grade after review by the district's Sex Education Advisory Board, a 12-member board headed by Ealy principal Ron Bailey and including district parents, other educators and local members of the clergy. Bailey said the current curriculum is over 20 years old and updates were necessary, adding that the proposed updates focus on the physical changes of puberty and the human anatomy and not "topics that may be risqué, so to speak."
According to the SEAB, two review sessions of the new curriculum took place, with many district parents participating. Board secretary Paula Martin thanked the SEAB for its work and indicated her approval of the curriculum after looking over it.
Van Wieren shared positive news of the district's award of two grants from the state Department of Education to expand its Career and Technical Education curriculum. Crediting high school principal Brett Westerlund and educators Brian Peets, Jeremy Sheaffer and John Mierz for their work on the grant proposal, Van Wieren noted the two grants total $441,000 and will help the district expand its mechanical drafting program. Nearby Reeths-Puffer Schools also received a grant for $400,000 for its middle school advanced manufacturing program.
More positive news was a small financial bonus that educators in the district received prior to spring break. Van Wieren said the bonuses were the result of a grant the district received for that purpose, similar to the small bonuses Montague district teachers were recently awarded.
