Bid awarded for tornado repairs

A firm has been chosen to handle repairs from the Sept. 22 tornado.

Jay School Board on Monday awarded a $2.23 million contract to Muhlenkamp Building Corporation for construction on the junior high wing of Jay County Junior-Senior High School that was extensively damaged in the storm.

The board also took no action on a recommendation to extend the contract of JCHS girls basketball coach Sherri McIntire. It approved an increase in fees for preschool and a change in the preschool contract.

Jay School Corporation superintendent Jeremy Gulley presented the board with five bids for the project, ranging from Muhlenkamp’s low bid of $2.23 million to Service Master’s high bid of $3.13 million. Each of the bids included alternates to install new marker and tack boards, cabinets, countertops and flooring, and to remove existing aluminum in favor of metal studs.

Gulley and architectural firm Barton Coe Vilamaa recommended selecting Muhlenkamp of Coldwater, Ohio, for the project.

Board members Donna Geesaman, Marcie Vormohr, Chip Phillips, Aaron Clark, Jon Eads and Chad Towell voted unanimously to award the project to Muhlenkamp and to allow Gulley to select which alternates to include. (Gulley noted that the school corporation’s insurance firm must also approve Muhlenkamp’s bid. After the meeting, he said the school corporation and the insurance firm have agreed to the scope of damages.)

“It really comes down to mechanical — everybody saw the HVAC blown off the building — electrical, plumbing,” he said, “those things above that ceiling grid that now have to be re-done. And you know just by looking at photographs — carpet, furniture and equipment like that.”

The school corporation originally set a goal of having construction substantially complete by the start of the 2025-26 school year in early August. The timeline was adjusted Monday, with a new goal of substantial completion by Sept. 30.

Mobile units that have been in use since Dec. 1 will remain on site and be utilized until construction is complete.

The board took no action on a recommendation to extend McIntire’s contract for one year, to June 30, 2027, after a motion died for lack of a second. (She is already under contract for the 2025-26 season.)

During the public comment portion of the meeting, the board heard from two Jay County residents about the proposed extension.

Carrie Petro, who has had two daughters in the girls basketball program, spoke against the extension, saying players have left the program because of McIntire and that there are different standards for different players. She alleged that the team does not work on fundamentals and said, “It’s got to change.”

Phil Ford, former JCHS athletics director and principal who finished a two-term stint on the school board in December, offered his support for McIntire. He said she knows the game, knows how to run a practice and has coached successfully at all levels of the program for 30 years. He complimented the job she did this season.

No board members commented on the extension, with Vormohr making the motion to approve the recommendation. Her motion died for lack of a second.

The board also approved the following fee increases for preschool:

•Two days — $736, up from the current $355

•Three days — $1,077, up from the current $480

•Five days — $1,710, up from the current $630

Business manager Shannon Current explained at the board’s February meeting that the corporation’s preschool program is running a $382,723 deficit.

The approved fee increases are the “middle option” among three presented to the board and are based on the mid-point between the current charges and the fee for Westminster Preschool Portland at Jay County Early Learning Center. (The other options were to set fees at half of the Westminster charge or to match the Westminster charge.)

The change to the contract calls for the fee for the first month to be paid up front. Those who fall behind on fees will risk having their child removed from the program.

Following a question from Towell, Gulley said the process is underway to make Jay Schools eligible to accept Child Care Development Fund vouchers.

In other business, the board:

•During the Patriot Pride moment, recognized the Why Try program at Redkey Elementary School. The program works with students on communication skills, goal setting, overcoming obstacles and other goals. It has also involved students interacting with the residents at The Waters of Dunkirk nursing home.

•Accepted donations totaling more than $14,000, including $5,031 from the National Rifle Association for the JROTC program, a $3,0037 matching grant from The Portland Foundation for new band equipment, a total of $2,750 for the PVE Club trip and $2,609 from The Cooper Farms Family Foundation for a projector.

•Heard a reminder from Gulley that the board will hold a work session regarding possible capital improvements at the junior-senior high school at 5 p.m. March 31. He added that there will be a survey to seek community input and that he expects decisions to come in May at the earliest.

•Accepted the resignations of junior high instructional assistant Joe Fennig, bus driver Richard Davis and custodian Judy Sanders.

•Heard from Current that the school corporation passed its biennial audit.