Part of roof on old armory must be repaired

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook School District will have to replace part of the roof at the former National Guard Armory building.

The district purchased the armory from the state in September 2011 for $82,500. Students from the alternative educational LIFT program now occupy the building.

McCook School District Business Manager Rick Haney told school board members at the regular Monday night meeting that bids will be obtained for a new roof and brought to the board for discussion.

Chris Wallace, the school maintenance supervisor, told board members that the roof on the main building, above the gymnasium, is "not that bad" but the roof on the north side, above the classrooms, is coming loose and allowing water to leak into classrooms.

In pictures presented to the board, with one showing stains of water leakage in corners, Wallace clarified, "This has been happening over the years, it didn't just happen right now." The current roof was installed in 1987 and roofs typically have a 12-15 year life-span, he said.

Haney said they were aware when the building was purchased that some roof work would have to be done "but we had hoped it be a year or two down the road."

He added that there is $91,000 in the depreciation fund to address the armory roof. He added that to replace school roofs in the future, he'd like to see about $500,000 in the fund.

In response to a question by board president Tom Bredvick, Haney said all the roofs were replaced in the district about 10 years ago, including at the high school, junior high, McCook Elementary and the LIFT building on U.S. Highway 83.

Larry Shields, board vice president, asked if insurance could help pay for roof repairs at the armory and if the August hail storm caused some of the damage. Wallace replied that as old as the roof is, he doubted if insurance would cover it and that he didn't believe hail damage was the cause.

During board comments, Superintendent Grant Norgaard discussed the positive responses the district received at the recruiting fairs at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and Kearney, with many candidates interested in McCook Public Schools.

Haney also told the board that the amount of state aid the district would receive would be released soon.

The district received about $4.7 million for 2011-2012, according to Superintendent Grant Norgaard. Norgaard said he expects state aid to increase for 2012-2013, due to student numbers higher this year than what was projected.