Board OKs $45,000 for sports complex
The Marathon Board of Education last week Wednesday voted to give Marathon City $45,000 for its proposed sports complex, but to do so with a contract where the village would guarantee the school’s softball teams use of the facility.
The vote was 4-0 with one abstention by school board president Brian Gumtz. In the approved motion, school board members said they would give the money to the village, but, possibly, over a three-year time frame. It will be up to district administrator Rick Parks to find the most advantageous way to make the payment to the village.
Parks said he will likely be able to confirm a payment schedule once this school year wraps up and he better understands district costs to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.
The administrator said one option would be to retire the remaining $227,000 balance on the school track loan and use the district’s debt payment capacity to fund the sports complex payment. He said a possible rebate from Fischer Transportation, Fenwood, could help retire that debt.
The board motion calls on the school district and the Village of Marathon City to enter into a standard intergovernmental agreement where the village will grant the school district guaranteed use of the sports complex, which will feature two softball fields and two baseball fields.
“Everything will be looked at through the end of the year,” Parks said. “Then we will figure out what is most beneficial for us.”
Board members justified the $45,000 payment, saying that the district needed to provide a facility for all of its sports offerings, including softball.
In other school board business:
_ Board members agreed to pay teachers $3,050 from the $10,405 received from the CWETN network for distance education classes taught in other school districts.
_ The board voted to increase one day substitute pay from $105 to $120, remedying a situation where Marathon School District’s rate was lower than regional competition.
_ Board members tabled action on a 2021-22 school calendar pending getting more information about spring break.
_ Marathon High School principal Dave Beranek and Marathon Area Elementary School/Marathon Venture Academy (MAES/MVA) principal Ryan McCain reported on the number of students quarantined for COVID-19 over the past few months. Both principals reported surges in early October and mid-November. Beranek reported a quarantine high of 74 students, while McCain had a top number of around 85 students.
McCain said MAES/MVA had to shut down for one day due to COVID- 19 related staff absences.
Beranek said that high schoolers, both at Marathon but across the Marawood Conference, were struggling academically given how many times they find themselves in quarantine. He reported the Marathon Foundation had donated computer equipment that allows scoreboard scores to be broadcast over live streamed athletic events.
The principals reported several virtual education students who have returned to in-person instruction: MAES, four students; MVA, nine students; and Marathon High School, three students.
It was reported that maintenance staff sanitizes rooms every morning and bathrooms several times a day. The staff currently has a sufficient amount of cleaning supplies, board members were told.
