A $1.2 million roof surfacing for Columbia Middle School was approved during the Columbia School Board meeting Thursday night.

The proposition was the result of several years of negotiation and discussion with companies in the area.

The CMS roof is currently not under warranty, and the company who took care of its previous renovations has since gone out of business.

The proposition, as presented by Columbia District Superintendent Chris Grode, is to resurface the middle school roof through Tremco.

Previous quotes for roof replacement came back at $3.2 million.

The purchase would also include a 20-year warranty, with check-ins performed every two years to evaluate  roof status.

A similar project was approved by the school board in the past to renovate the roof at Eagleview Elementary.

“I must say, the Eagleview roof we’ve had no issues with,” Grode said. “It was a very wet winter we had after we did that project, and it’s a great thing.”

The decision was ultimately approved unanimously, and the project is currently planned to be completed during several weeks this fall.

Renovations to the Parkview and Eagleview school parking lots totalling $37,390 were also approved by the board.

Also approved was the purchase of a single bus with understorage at $113,000, with one of the current district buses planned to be kept as a backup.

With minor amendments, the board also approved a new student handbook.

The meeting also saw a number of resignations from the district – including the retirement of Joy Hall that had not previously been on the agenda.

A comment from Grode early on in the meeting indicated the district will likely not adopt national sex education standards.

The discussion arose in response to talk surrounding the Red Bud school district’s recent letter to parents describing its stance against teaching comprehensive sex education.

Grode said he currently doubts the adoption of such standards by the Columbia School Board, as they would be substantially more expansive than a typical health class. Grode added he is unsure of what these standards would actually look like, as the Illinois State Board of Education has not yet presented such information.

“If I was a wagering person I would think that that’s not exactly gonna be what our community would want,” Grode said. “Much like culturally responsive teaching … I’ve currently not seen a curriculum that’s really pushing culturally responsible teaching at the elementary or high school level.”