School board approves vehicle purchases

The School District of Rhinelander Board of Education has reorganized following the April election but there were no changes to the roster of board officers. Ron Counter will continue as board president, having received all eight votes for the position during the panel’s May 12 reorganizational meeting. The same pattern continued as Judy Conlin was elected board vice-president, Mary Peterson was elected clerk and Mike Roberts elected treasurer, all with 8-0 votes.
Conlin, Peterson, and Ron Lueneburg, who were re-elected on April 1, were formally sworn in as was new board member Kurt Helke.
The board’s operations and strategic planning committee met just after the organizational meeting took place.
In addition to resolutions related to the replacement of student chromebooks and staff laptop and docking stations, the committee forwarded to the full board a resolution authorizing an application for a $500,000 loan from the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL) for the purpose of financing the purchase of eight vehicles.
The committee passed the resolution with a unanimous vote. On May 19, the resolution was presented to the full board which also approved it with a unanimous vote.

According to the resolution, the district currently has a fleet of 18 vehicles but a number of them are aging. Among the district’s fleet of Surburbans is a 2013 model and several 2015 models, according to the resolution. “They are now over 100,000 miles and requiring more and more maintenance,” the resolution reads.
The district is also looking to replace a 2002 dump truck and a 2011 box van, according to the resolutions.
“We have quotes from Ford for a dump truck ($67,376), four Expeditions (239,988), two F-250 pickups (93,222) and one box truck (46,817),” the resolutions states. “This would be $447,403 plus license, fees, etc. The remainder of the $500,000 (loan) would be used to finally get the carport constructed.”
According to the district’s business director, Bob Thom, the carport will be located at the east end of the RHS parking lot where the school Suburbans and vans are currently parked. The carport was approved in March of 2023, and purchased that spring, but permit issues and increased costs have delayed the project.
“Since we are already doing construction on the RHS and JWMS buildings (as part of district’s tech ed project) it is more cost effective to have the construction done now,” Thom explained. “It will be really nice to provide protection from the elements for all of the school vehicles.”
According to Thom, the dumptruck is used for grounds maintenance as well as sand and salt in the winter.
“Our staff hauls dirt and brush while maintaining ski and walking trails at CAVOC and the school forests,” he explained. “They also haul dirt, wood chips, and other landscaping materials for playgrounds, athletic fields, and materials for the technical education facilities.”
“The Suburbans are used to transport students for activities, special programming, and for staff to attend trainings and conferences,” he added. “We also have vans for wheelchair bound students, special education transportation, and use by activities and staff. The maintenance staff uses their trucks to plow snow, transport supplies and materials between schools, deliver lunches to outlying buildings, and many other tasks that come up each day.”
BCPL loans are available to school districts and the interest paid goes to the common school fund for libraries. The rate for the five-year loan is 5.50%.
“The idea would be to spread out payments over five years and then renew a five-year loan to replace another batch of vehicles,” the resolution reads.