The Indian Lake Board of Education has approved a significant project that will enhance the facilities at Indian Lake Schools. In a recent meeting, the board awarded Baumer Construction, Inc. a $2.9 million contract to construct a new Bus Maintenance/Storage facility and Fuel Station. This new facility will be located south of the middle school along County Road 91, effectively relocating the current maintenance facility, which has become inadequate for modern bus sizes.
Superintendent Dr. Rob Underwood emphasized the importance of this upgrade, stating, “What this will allow us to do is get those buses inside, undercover, locked, and safely out of the weather.” He added that the decision to move forward with this project was made after careful financial analysis over the past year, noting that it will help extend the lifespan of the district’s buses and improve overall security on campus.
Remarkably, bids for the project came in $1.3 million under the original estimated cost, which will also free up the existing bus garage for future developments. This change is expected to create additional parking spaces near the Indian Lake High School event entrance and Laker Stadium.
In addition to the bus garage project, Dr. Underwood provided an update on the recent State Report Card results for Indian Lake Schools. The district received a 4-star rating, a slight decrease from the previous two years’ ratings of 4.5 stars. Notably, the state testing occurred shortly after a devastating tornado in March that disrupted the school year and affected many families. Dr. Underwood expressed pride in the students’ performance under such challenging circumstances: “For them to be able to focus and come back from such a challenging event and still perform solidly on those assessments, we couldn’t be any prouder.”
The teaching teams are currently reviewing the results to identify areas for improvement in the upcoming year.
In another important announcement, the board accepted the retirement of longtime Treasurer Coleen Reprogle, who plans to step down next summer. Dr. Underwood acknowledged her decades of service and expressed the challenges that will come with finding her successor: “It’s been such an awesome experience getting to work with her. Very few people in the profession work as hard as she does and give as much as she has to this district.”
The board will begin the search process for Reprogle’s replacement soon.
The next Indian Lake Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 21st, at 6:30 PM in the Board Office.
