POLAND — The Board of Education on Monday approved Strollo Architects to demolish the concrete bleachers and concession stand at McKinley Elementary School’s Baird Mitchell Field.
The demolition project will open up the area for a new drive-thru student drop-off road and a new playground facility, including some handicap accessible equipment.
One Alverne Drive resident said the new proposed playground should include items for handicapped children. She told board members to check out Walnut Grove Playground south of Canfield. That playground has a variety of handicap-approved equipment, she said.
“If we are re-investing in this property, we want to make it as student friendly as possible,” board President Gregg Riddle said.
Once the present bleachers are removed, Riddle said, the space can better serve the school. He said the new proposed playground would come in under $50,000. He added that some handicap-friendly equipment would be part of the project.
As for the demolition, Riddle said it will only be the bleachers right now. The concession stand was thrown into the mix to get a price in case it is considered at a later date.
The Strollo Architects agreement called for a fee not to exceed $8,800. The board also accepted a quote from Service Supply Limited out of Reynoldsburg that came in at $187,610 for a complete playground with all new equipment, mulch and installation.
“We are trying to create an age-appropriate and handicap-accessible playground,” Riddle said.
He said the playground equipment likely would arrive in the spring of 2022 because some of the parts are hard to get right now.
One other issue with the bleachers involved history. The bleachers were built as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. WPA was an employment and infrastructure program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 as the country was going through the Great Depression.
As a WPA project, the bleachers were fitted with a plaque, which Riddle said the Poland Historical Society is interested in preserving. Every effort would be made to removed the historical plaque intact, he said.
In another matter, the board received an update on the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, ESSER III, funds that were awarded for March 3, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2024. Poland’s ESSER III budget for the three years is $1,116,349.77.
“The district has to allocate 20 percent of the funds, or $225,000 to close the COVID-19-related learning gap,” Treasurer Janet Muntean told board members.
To date, she said the district has spent $213,122.53 on math and literacy materials, social and emotional counseling, extended school year summer school and tutors. She said $11,877.47 was left to allocate for learning loss.
Some $667,292 has been spent on the air system at the middle school gym, and $75,000 has been given to the athletic department.
Muntean said the athletic department could receive funds equal to what it lost due to COVID-19. She said only what was lost can be paid out of the fund. After careful examination, she said the athletic department settled on a $75,000 loss in revenue in the past school year.
In other business, the board:
• Accepted an anonymous donation of $700.98 for the Poland Players;
• Approved hiring Maria Hoffmaster as assistant superintendent effective Aug. 1 through July 21, 2024, at a salary of $93,500, and Lauren DeJulio as student services coordinator from Aug. 1 through July 31, 2023, at a salary of $74,000. Salary increases beyond fiscal year 2022 will be approved later;
• Approved high school varsity and middle school wrestling as athletic sports. Previously both were club sports working with the school system;
• Approved the high school band’s Florida trip in 2022.
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