Gym floor project keeps moving ahead

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The start of the school year is right around the corner and several projects at Henning School are entering the final stages of completion.

During its regularly scheduled meeting last Tuesday night, the Henning School Board heard that the new gym floor project is progressing smoothly and should be completed in the near future. 

Henning School Superintendent Melissa Sparks said the flooring has been laid and construction workers are now completing the design, painting and finishing of the high school gym floor. The project was expected to be completed around the start of the school year. 

In addition to the gym floor, Sparks said parents who attend the school district’s open house on Wednesday night will be asked to complete a brief survey, which will be one of the first steps in developing Henning’s new five-year strategic plan. 

In her report to the school board, Sparks said similar surveys will be sent to community stakeholders, followed by listening sessions with students and staff. The new five-year plan will help the school district plan for future building projects and prioritize what is important to families in the school district.

While the final numbers will not be known until the actual first day of school on Sept. 2, Sparks said the school district has gained 20 students over the course of the summer, while losing just 10 students from the end of the school year. The projected enrollment for the start of the school year for students in grades K-12 will be 364 students and 409 students when including preschool. 

The largest projected class will be at ninth grade with 35 students, while several classes have enrollment numbers in excess of 30 students.

In other news

• Accepted a $4,500 donation from Womenade.

• Approved the hiring of Tawni Thorson as paraprofessional, Cynthia Sales as paraprofessional, Carrie Bushman as paraprofessional, Jason Speer as junior high girls and boys basketball coach, Alexis Froemming as junior high volleyball coach and Serena Greenwood as junior high volleyball coach. 

• Heard the participation numbers were strong in both volleyball with 30 students in volleyball in grades 9-12 in Henning, as well as approximately 60 people out for football at the senior high level for Otter Tail Central. 

• Approved holding the Truth and Taxation meeting on December 16 at 6 p.m., followed by the December school board meeting at 6:30 p.m.

• Rejected all of the proposals for the parking lot improvement project as presented and directed the administration to re-open the project for new bids in the winter of 2026. The project would have made some upgrades to the elementary parking lot, including a raised sidewalk going down the middle of the parking lot, handicap apron and handicap spots. The project would make for three rows of parking in the parking lot, but the overall cost of the project was nearly $117,000, which Sparks said was nearly $20,000-30,000 more than originally anticipated. 

• Approved an annual maintenance agreement for the new HVAC system with Ellingson Plumbing, Heating, AC and Electric at a cost of $19,398. The school board spent quite a bit of time discussing whether the agreement was needed for the new HVAC system, but Sparks said the agreement would be a benefit to the school district in the short term as it learns its new HVAC system. 

• Approved a three year Building Automation System Support Services maintenance and software agreement with Automated Technologies at a cost of $10,074 per year. The agreement will keep the software and controls up to date for the new HVAC system.