Hillsboro High School’s theater will have a new look and sound later this year, after the Hillsboro R-3 Board of Education voted to spend $370,825 on audio and visual upgrades.
The board voted 6-0 on March 28 to award a $229,765 contract to Cine Services Inc. in St. Louis for lighting improvements and a $141,060 contract to Modern Communications in Fenton for audio-visual upgrades. Board member Angie Oshia was absent from the meeting.
Clay LaRue, the district’s senior director of operations, said the upgrades are overdue.
“With minor upgrades over the years, this is essentially the same lighting and sound equipment that was installed when the high school was built in 1999,” he said. “We want to make sure we have equitable opportunities for all students. This will be a complete overhaul of the theater.”
LaRue said the theater is primarily used by the high school’s fine arts program.
“There are also meetings held in the theater,” he said.
LaRue said the new, modern controls to the lighting and the AV equipment will allow students interested in careers in that field to have access to up-to-date equipment.
“We’ll have completely new stage lights and a new sound system, and new microphone headsets (for actors),” he said. “The cabling also will be replaced. We’ll also have a drop screen and a projector for presentations.”
LaRue said work should be complete in early August.
Cine Services submitted the only bid for the lighting work, and Modern Communications submitted the lowest of three bids for the audio-visual work.
According to board documents, money to pay for the project will be included in the budget for the 2024-2025 school year.
Primary School roof to be repaired
A leaky roof around the cafeteria at Hillsboro Primary School will be replaced over the summer.
Also on March 28, the Hillsboro school board voted 6-0 to award a $278,493 contract to St. Louis Roofing Co. in St. Louis to repair the roof. The company submitted the lowest of six bids for the project.
“We’ve had some leaking in that area of the building,” LaRue said. “Also, the skylight there is cracked and needs to be replaced.”
He said work will begin after summer school ends and should be complete by Aug. 9.
According to board documents, the roof began leaking about two years ago after an HVAC system was replaced in 2022.
“This needs to be done,” LaRue said.
The new roof will have a 20-year warranty.
According to board documents, money to pay for the project will be included in the capital budget for the 2024-2025 school year.
Insurance premiums on the rise
The school board also approved a rate schedule for health, vision and dental insurance for the district’s employees by a 6-0 vote on March 28.
The schedule includes a 10.9 percent increase in health insurance premiums, with no changes in vision and dental insurance rates.
Superintendent Jon Isaacson noted that the new rates are essentially the same that were charged in the 2020-2021 school year, with an 11 percent decrease the next year and a modest 1.5 percent increase for 2023-2024.
“With COVID-19 and everything going up with inflation, I think we’ve done pretty well,” Isaacson said.
The board agreed to pay the difference in premium costs for employees only.
Depending on the plan, employees will continue to pay $99 to $169 per month for health insurance.
The district’s contribution will be $598 per month for each plan, up from $530 per month this school year.
“Having good benefits is a price that has to be paid to retain good employees,” Isaacson said.