The District 205 School Board Monday night approved a lease agreement for the Lincoln Education Center with the Regional Office of Education 33.
The Harrison St building was the home of the District’s head office until the winter and currently houses Bright Futures Preschool until the summer. Bright Futures is moving to the 940 Building on Fremont St, what was Northwoods Church, when the new school year starts in the fall of 2023.
District 205 Superintendent Dr. John Asplund told the board that the lease agreement has two terms. The first would see the ROE occupying just the former district offices, including the Board of Education’s meeting room, beginning Wednesday, February 15, until June 30. On July 1, the ROE would also take over the Bright Futures portion of the building.
Asplund said that the ROE would get the office portion paying, “basically no rent but they would pay half of the electric bill for that term. Then, starting in July, they would pay everything and they would pay [the school district] $3,000 a month.”
The term of the lease is for three years, beginning on July 1. One aspect of the lease that the superintendent highlighted was a clause that the contract could be terminated by either party with 270 days notice.
“Hypothetically seven years from now, we could have 400 students enrolling for kindergarten, we need three more classrooms, or whatever. We would have 18 classrooms over there that would be available if we ever needed the space back.”
In the meantime, Asplund says that students enrolled in RAES, the regional alternative school, can be taught in a building designed to be a school.
In other action, the board approved a number of bid specs for projects that are expected to be completed over the summer.
Work includes:
- Painting the exterior of the Fieldhouse (from the yellow stripe up)
- Adding a practice soccer field to the east of the Fieldhouse
- Run power to have a scoreboard built on the east side of the Fieldhouse
- Extending a sidewalk from the baseball field connecting to the YMCA
- Painting and adding signage to the exterior of Wicall Gym
- Adding some acoustical panels on the north and south walls of Wicall Gym
- Casework in the life skills area behind the library
- Resurface and restripe in a different pattern of Steel Elementary School with separate entrances and exits
- New speedbumps at the Galesburg Junior Senior High School and in front of Gale.
- New LED lights for the entire tennis courts and resurfacing of the tennis courts
- New bathrooms, team rooms, and mechanical rooms at the tennis courts
The school board revealed the City of Galesburg would be assisting with the tennis court improvements.
Board members also approved the school calendar for the 2023/24 academic school year. Highlights of the new calendar include:
- First day of classes for students is Aug. 10
- Fall break begins with a Teacher’s Institute on Oct. 13 and continues through the week of Oct. 16-20
- Thanksgiving break begins with a Parent/Teachers Conference on Nov. 22
- Winter break runs from Dec. 21-Jan. 5 and ends with a Teacher’s Institute on Jan. 8
- Spring break begins with a contractual holiday on March 29 and falls on the week of Apr. 1-5
- Last day of school is May 23