by Dave DeMars
The Sartell-St. Stephen School Board held a special meeting Aug. 29 to accomplish three things: to interview three candidates contending for the open seat on the board; then choose one of the candidates to fill that seat; and also to consider bids and contracts related to the new high school being built.
The board tackled the interviewing of three candidates for the vacated seat on the board. The candidates were Amanda Byrd, Taryn Gentile and Jeremy Snoberger. The board proceeded with a series of 10 questions put to each candidate in an effort to gauge which candidate would be the best fit for the board. Previously the board had received written applications with several other questions and descriptions of the applicants’ background.
After three calls for nominations, the School Board approved a resolution appointing Snoberger to fill the vacancy created when Michelle Meyer moved out of the District and resigned. Snoberger currently serves on the New Sartell High School Steering Committee; he is the president of the Sartell All-Sports Booster Club and served as the chairperson for the 2016 Bond Referendum “Vote Yes for Success” committee.
Snoberger shared why he was interested in serving on the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board saying, “I have fallen in love with the work I have done with the new facilities and the vision of the district as a whole. I am a big-picture guy and I see the larger scope of things well, so I look forward to being a part of guiding, supporting and leading the way as our district grows and develops.”
Snoberger will be able to assume the seat after 30 days has elapsed. According to a Minnesota School Board Association spokesperson, during that 30 days, district residents may file a petition to overturn the school board’s selection. That would necessitate the board selecting a different candidate or holding a special election to fill the seat.
The school board also looked at a recommendation from Winkelman Building Co., the managing contractor for the new high-school building, for a package of 15 contract bids. The contracts would be awarded with 11 alternate requirements or modifications to the bids. Alternates are like change orders in the contract. Modifications included such things as providing concession buildings and storage buildings to some sites, providing better masonry dugouts, LED lighting in the pool, providing complete culinary lab equipment and so on.
The approval by the board does not lock them into actually including the alternates. If there is time before contractors place the order and the board decides they would rather not have some of the alternates, the board could cancel the order and get full credit on the canceled orders. The reason to accept the bids on alternates now is because waiting another six months almost always comes with an increase in the price tag, School District Superintendent Jeff Schwiebert explained. So it’s better to accept the bids now and cancel later for the full credit.
“We think we are in a good position to accept all the alternates that are here,” Schwiebert said.
Some additional discussions and research in conjunction with the steering committee will help to decide what direction to go. There were also 20 contracts which were held back. A special board meeting and further study will need to be done before the contracts would be approved. Those contracts will need to be approved by the next regular board meeting in September.
After some additional questions and considerations, the contract package was approved as presented.