The Waterloo School Board took minor action on projects and maintenance in the district while also taking a moment of silence to recognize a tragic loss within the community.

To open the recent meeting, Waterloo School Board President Lori Dillenberger acknowledged the passing of Gardner Elementary teacher Jenny Eckenfels.

“In recent days, our district suffered a terrible loss of Jenny Eckenfels, who was a special education teacher in our Gardner Elementary School,” Dillenberger said.

She went on to request a moment of silence for those close to Eckenfels, including her family and the many in the district who are mourning their loss.

Waterloo Athletic Booster Club President Greg Schwehr spoke during the meeting with an update on progress toward procuring and installing video scoreboards for Waterloo High School.

The upcoming interior and exterior video scoreboards were previously discussed at the August meeting, which put the total cost of the project at roughly $220,000.

Schwehr reported that the scoreboards – which could be used for playing advertisements from local businesses and other content – were ordered in late January and are expected for delivery early in June, with installation possible in the following weeks.

Schwehr expressed that funds for the boards had been fully raised, specifically thanking a number of sponsors who have agreed to five-year commitments – including First National Bank of Waterloo, HTC and Imo’s Pizza.

While Schwehr spoke positively about the boards, reiterating  the opportunities they can afford students who participate in operating them, he did share concerns about making sure there is content to run on the boards by the time they are installed for the next school year.

“I wanna make sure that, once we get these in, we have them ready to go for next year,” Schwehr said. “I’m worried about having the content ready to go, so I guess my ask right now… I’d like to see if we can get approval for sponsors. We’d talked about getting a sponsor for an AV Club.”

Waterloo Superintendent of Schools Brian Charron said he would expect cooperation with the district’s union about the possibility of bringing in a new club sponsor position, but said discussions would need to take place in the future.

Among the few action items on the agenda for the board were two concerning FGM Architects.

The first of these approved items involved a $12,000 payment for tuckpointing – fixing and replacing old, dried-up brick mortar to address cracks – at Rogers Elementary, Gardner Elementary and Waterloo High School.

The second, for $20,000, was for a partial roof replacement at Waterloo Junior High School, which Charron said is part of other facility updates in the district.

According to Charron, other parts of the roof have been replaced in the past. 

Waterloo Board Member Jodi Burton remarked in the meeting how the junior high roof has been troublesome for some time.

“I would just like to say that we’ve been fixing that roof since I’ve been here,” Burton said. “(Since) 1976, we’ve been fixing that roof.”

The board also approved the calendar for the 2023-24 school year following several adjustments since the calendar was presented last month.

Charron noted parent-teacher conferences were moved ahead following input from staff. Similarly, the three-day Super Bowl weekend was adjusted as the district was reminded of a major volleyball tournament taking place on President’s Day.

“I know that I was trying to be cute with the Super Bowl day, but we did move this calendar back to President’s Day,” Charron said.

In related news, the Waterloo Superintendent’s Office recently announced an amended budget for the district will be available to view at the 302 Bellefontaine Drive office starting 8 a.m. March 16, with a public hearing on the amended budget taking place at 7 p.m. April 17.

Charron noted that budget amendments are rather routine as the savings and expenditures of the district are re-evaluated.