When the Watonga School Board met Monday evening in regular session, they huddled in the new administration meeting room in the newly-opened gym.
There are still some items on the punch list for the facility to be complete. New wrestling mats were a topic of discussion. One was presented last week by Larry Estep but a few more are needed. The mats, like everything else, have gone up. “They are a little bit over budget,” said Superintendent Kyle Hilterbran. “But to get what we want it will be worth it,” he added. The board agreed, and the order was approved.
Shot clocks and clocks in the officials’ room are on the way and soon there will be a mural painted in the hallway.
Hilterbran is also searching for ways to improve the acoustics and a portable stage for use at graduations and similar events. Hopes are the end zone facility will be completed in two more months and the wrestling room in three. That room will have its own mats, so that the bulky items don’t have to be transported from one building to another for matches.
And the new facility will be getting a real workout Feb. 20-22 when basketball regional games will be held in Watonga.
In other business, the board did some wrestling of its own, with the prospect of rebuilding the track.
While the surface is relatively new, the subsurface of asphalt is nearing the end of its useful life, about 30 years. No one present had an exact year of installation, so there is no way to know if the asphalt underlay will need to be replaced.
Hilterbran’s best guess on cost was about $400,000 for the surface. “If the asphalt base is good, but it’s 30 years old,” he said. His guess on replacing both elements of the track was about $600,000. The money spent would be considered repair, not construction and board member Aaron Clewell made sure the existing track was not unsafe to use.
Pending board approval, Hilterbran had about five companies lined up to come give quotes on the project. But he wondered if perhaps the district wanted to take a rest from construction for a season.
“Or do we want to go from June 1 to August 1?” he asked.
Clewell said the board was better to just ‘Rip off the band-aid’ and get the construction completed.
The question then went to when the football season would begin. Hobart is the first home game, set for September 5.
“So, we really have from June 1 to September 1,” Clewell said.
Hilterbran said that since the board wanted to at least move ahead with quotes, he would have the companies break the work out into cost for the asphalt underlayment and separately, the track surface. Hopes are the work can be accomplished using an egress point on the northeast corner of the stadium, keeping heavy trucks and equipment off the new parking areas and minimizing the potential for damage to the sidewalks.
One of the later items on the agenda was setting the school calendar for the academic year 2025-26. That calendar has school starting a week later than this academic year, on August 14, and ending on May 20, 2026. There is a fall break that coincides with the break at Chisholm Trail Technology Center, a week after the Watonga Cheese Festival, and students get more time off – a full week -- at Thanksgiving.
The board entered into executive session to discuss retaining the principals at all three levels, as well as Marcy Roof, the federal programs director, and Darrel Merkey as IT director. The board had previously heard that Duwane Crites was retiring as the maintenance go-to at the district. “I really appreciate him,” Hilterbran said. “He’s been a great employee and is a great guy.”
Following the session, the board voted to extend contracts to Ashley Riley as elementary principal, Ty Hussey as middle school principal and Lauren Coleman as high school principal. Mayra Porras was hired as custodian.
The board also approved a previously budgeted stipend of $1,500 for support and certified staff, to be paid just before spring break.