Gilman eyes grant to help cover elementary playground equipment
The playground equipment at Gilman schools needs attention.
Administrator Walter Leipart brought the playground equipment to the school board’s attention at their regular meeting Monday night.
“The playground equipment is not designed for our littlest students, (3,4, and 5 year-olds), so we have applied for a grant. If we do not get the grant, then new playground equipment will be an estimated $45,000,” he said.
Leipart also added that the school had a medical emergency and it was taken care of very well. A de-briefing with the safety team was held to talk about communication skills and response plans. This also served as a training for new members of the committee.
The Gilman track has started getting redone this past month. They plan to resurface and re-rubberize the track in the spring of 2022. Once they started chipping away at the blacktop, the sand underneath was so waterlogged, a drain had to be installed before they could even think of pouring fresh blacktop down. To fix this problem, drain tile was installed on the inside of the track, so a large drain could be put in the infield of the track.
“There was so much water in the sand, that once the drain was installed, water ran for three days straight. The drain was much needed,” Leipart said The asphalt will be poured on Wednesday, October 20. An anonymous donor is looking to enhance the shot-put area, as well.
The middle school students and teachers are in the planning stages of constructing a miniature golf course, further information will be brought to the board at a later date.
A new Director of Special Education was introduced to the board on Monday night. Mary Zimmerman was hired in August, and she also works with Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA), as well as within the Gilman school district.
Crisis Prevention Institute’s (CPI) training for 33 staff members will take place on October 22.
Contact tracing has helped in the number of students being absent due to Covid-19. Two weeks ago, there were 73 students out sick, on Monday, only 24 students were absent.
“Hopefully we’ve seen the peak of absentees this year, and we can continue to have a successful school year,” Leipart said.
Tyler Pockat, spoke on behalf of 1 of 3 deans of the Gilman School District, saying “We are trying to create a structured culture within the school district. The kids like having structure and knowing what they can and can’t do.” Pockat shares the duty of the dean with two other individuals because they also teach classes throughout the day. He stated that he enjoys having two other people to work with and help with anything that is needed.
“Another benefit of having two other deans is when something happens, it can get taken care of right away, not put on the back burner. My predecessor did a great job and I give a lot of credit to him,” Pockat said.
Phil Tallman was hired as JV Boys Basketball Coach. Dave Kroeplin resigned as Girls Junior High Basketball Coach.
The district annual budget has changed slightly due to the revenue limit and the tax levy that was projected. There are no other significant changes. Tax levy rate was estimated at $10.72, and is finalized at $10.65. Referendum went from $690,000 to $650,000. The revenue limit increased to $40,000 and increased state aid as well.
