School Board approves $914,583 to replace air-handling unit at McBride

The Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education at its regular meeting on March 9 unanimously approved spending $914,583 from the sinking fund to replace the McBride Middle School air handling unit this summer.
The unit is original to the building and an associated condensing unit was added in the mid-1980s as part of a mechanical upgrade. Over time, the condensing unit has failed, along with other mechanical components, resulting in reliability concerns and reduced system performance.
Board president Amy Pearce said to hope for a cool spring because the classrooms get hot with the failing system.
Work is expected to begin on June 15 and be done by Sept. 1. Granger Construction is general contractor.
Rob Kakoczki of Plante Moran Realpoint said the project presents unique logistical challenges and in order to complete the work, a section of the roof will have to be temporarily removed.
He said they will cut a hole in the roof and fly out the old unit. At the end they will fly in a new unit. He said there are two identical units at the school and the other one will have to be done eventually. He said this unit serves all the classrooms.
Board trustee Wade Fields asked them to look into putting in a roof hatch since they will have to be going through the roof for future repairs and Kakoczki said they could look into that.
This project was presented for the first time on Monday and its approval was requested immediately instead of waiting until the next meeting for approval, the usual procedure. Kakoczki said this was so they could get started sooner.
In other business at the 50-minute meeting the board:
• Approved the commissioning consultant proposal from JMK Engineering for $27,500 for the Series 1 New Operations Building, as discussed at the last school board meeting;
• Approved the contract with Integrated Design Solutions for $263,285 for technology design services for the duration of the 2025 bond program, as discussed at the last school board meeting;
• Was given information only on a proposal to hire low-bidder Palmer Moving Management at a cost of $41,375 to move contents out of Rawsonville Elementary School so 22 classrooms could be renovated this summer, June 15-Sept. 1. This is in the general fund budget. The proposal will be voted on at the next board meeting;
• Approved the possible trip to Houston, TX of the Robotics team for participation in the FIRST Robotics World Championships, if it is eligible to attend. Last year the team had two weeks’ notice to get to Houston and this year they want to be ready in advance, with all the approvals in place, said teacher Aaron Lang. He said the event in Houston is April 29-May 2. Cost per student is $800-$1,000 and is paid by the student; and
• Accepted the retirement of Rawsonville Elementary teacher Virginia Bogle-Hogg on March 4 after 31 years of service; the retirement of Tyler Elementary teacher Michelle Kirkwood as of June 12 after less than a year of service; and the resignation of Tyler teacher Sofia Dixon as of June 12 after three years of service.