AMBOY – With no major obstacles over the past month, construction on the new Amboy Junior High has continued as expected. Reporting at the June 17 Amboy School Board meeting, Superintendent Joshua Nichols said he is hopeful no problems will arise but he knows how quickly that can change. 

Over that past two years, the project has had to overcome numerous setbacks and delays. Although the building is still on target to be done by the start of the school year, Nichols admitted that he still worries and will probably not be able to relax until the school actually opens. “I’ll be relieved when teachers and students are in there,” he told the board. “August is right around the corner. Things are progressing but . . . it will be nice to finally see it done.” 

OTHER BUSINESS

• Financial Report: With one month left in the fiscal year, Nichols said the district will end up in good shape financially. Transportation funding was better than expected as was the Lee County sales tax. 

• Board member Katie Pratt said the Strategic Planning Core Committee met and discussed the “who, what, when, where and why.” The group will pause over the summer months and start meeting again in September. 

• The board authorized the sale of Amboy High School’s surplus equipment. Nichols said there is everything from textbooks to desks that are no longer needed. The items are just taking up space at the high school and need to be removed. 

• Several quotes were approved by the board including a proposal from Thompson Electronics Co. for electronic door openers at Amboy High School and a quote from Dyopath for AMC cabling system (wiring for phones, wireless internet, etc.), which both came in under budget. Dyopath was also approved for cabling conduit/sleeve installation. American Capital was approved for an infrastructure lease agreement, which includes hardware, servers, switches, etc. for the entire school district, and for 110 Dell Chromebooks, which Nichols said have already arrived. 

• An insurance proposal from Ramza Insurance Group, Inc. was approved. Nichols said he was pleased that they kept the rates “decent.” 

• The 2021-2022 student handbooks were approved. Nichols noted that handbook updates are done every year and there are always some tweaks and changes to keep the district compliant. 

PERSONNEL

Following closed session, the board approved the contract of Joshua Nichols as superintendent from June 17, 2021 through June 30, 2024; and Katie Bulfer as 5-12 dean of students from Aug. 13, 2021 through June 30, 2022.

They accepted the resignations of Shauna Dinges as RtI and Math Curriculum Director at Amboy Junior High School and of Shelli Bump as cafeteria cook.

The next regular board meeting will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 15 at Central School. All meetings are open to the public.