MANDATA - Line Mountain School Board approved a $9.7 million construction project that will bring geothermal wells and a new heating and air conditioning system to the junior/senior high school, along with other renovations on campus.
Following a 90-minute discussion at Tuesday's meeting, the board voted 7-2 to award $9,726.812 in contracts to drill geothermal wells on the campus and install a new HVAC system throughout the school.
The new system will give the school the ability to have climate control in classrooms, something that superintendent Dave Campbell wanted to see.
"You see businesses doing renovations to create a better working environment for their employees," Campbell said. "We are trying to create a learning environment for the 21st century. Students that are sitting here sweating and uncomfortable are not productive and learning."
The bid package approved other renovations on campus, including the replacement of the wooden windows in the building, construction of a free-standing maintenance garage with a salt shed and resurfacing of the main access road.
Voting to award the contracts were directors Troy Laudenslager, Dennis Erdman, Lawrence Neidig, David Bartholomew, Lauren Hackenburg, Ronald Neidig and Daniel Zablosky. Directors Lamont Masser and Marlin Yeager Jr. voted against the project.