Goessel School Board Hears Speaker System Report

The Goessel school board met on Feb. 11 and heard a report from teacher/coach/athletic director Brian Lightner. He expressed appreciation for the new wireless sound system in the high school gym. Installation of that system took four days and is a huge improvement.

Lightner said he is “really excited to have good quality sound at the stadium as well” and shared information he had learned about replacing the current system at the football/track area. Board members speculated that the sound system might be 30 years old.

Lightner reported to the board that the contractor advised against using just one speaker because it would be too loud for people near it. He said it would be better to use two speakers. They will be installed on light poles on the home side of the football field/track and would be sufficient for the opposite side as well.

Board member Ben Schrag asked when the football/track sound system would be installed. Lightner said, “by the first track meet.” He said Goessel is hosting five track meets this year, three junior high and two high school meets.

The board approved purchasing the sound system from Electronic Contracting Company as proposed, for a total of $19,092.

The board thanked Lightner for his work on speaker systems and acknowledged the work of Brian Burkholder and Russell Pauls as announcers.

Lightner said that upgrades for the speaker system in the auditorium are needed too. That issue will need to be considered sometime later.

Turning their attention to another matter, the board accepted the donation of a portable breath alcohol tester from the Marion County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. It can test a person or a drink. The board appreciated the donation. Junior high/high school principal Scott Boden said that policies regarding the breath alcohol tester will be reviewed and updated as needed before it is used with students.

In other business, the board:

* heard about snow days from superintendent/elementary school principal Dr. John Fast. He said the Marion County superintendents text each other. Fast had been out driving the roads at 4:45 one morning to check conditions. The road did not seem slick, but that changed rapidly; 15 minutes later he heard about slide-offs on the highway. He said it takes a while (about 30 minutes) to do all of the communication when school is canceled. He reminded the board that school needs to be in session for at least 1,116 hours for the school year.

Even with some missed days for weather, Fast said that Goessel will have enough hours.

* heard about the “I Can Sing” grade school music program scheduled for later in the week and the family reading night, “Lights, Camera, Read” scheduled for March 5. “We had a great turn-out last year,” Fast said.

* Heard from Fast and Boden about the Jan. 21 in-service day. Boden reported that the day was used to review progress on accreditation goals, plan for advisory groups, lessons on self-regulation, improving relationships through community engagement, and student improvement team planning. Fast said that both the elementary school and the junior high/high school had a very productive time.

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