St. Henry board gets $800K donation

ST. HENRY - School board members on Monday night accepted an anonymous $800,000 donation for the elementary playground project.

"It's a very generous donation," said board president Andy Fullenkamp. "We're very, very thankful. This will help our project get over the top, so it's fantastic."

Board members previously awarded a $90,000 professional design contract to Fanning Howey Associates of Celina for engineering and architect design services related to the $1.1 million elementary playground project.

Since then, superintendent Adam Puthoff said a committee of faculty and community members has hashed out budget and design details. The project, which will include all new equipment, is now out for bid.

"It's going to be a complete renovation," Puthoff said. "We're going to make everything one level. Now, there's a whole bunch of curbs, so we're going to have it leveled out, then all the gadgets that everybody has now, the zip lines, swings and tires."

Also planned is a rubber floor, with wood chips to be placed under various pieces of equipment.

With this recent contribution, the project is fully funded through a combination of donations and the school's permanent improvement fund.

The new playground is expected to be ready by the start of next school year.

"(This is) something our community has been waiting on for a while, and I appreciate all those who helped with the design process and (helped) put this project together," Puthoff said. "It's going to be a great contribution to our school, students and community."

In other business, board members moved to put a 4.6-mill renewal emergency tax levy on the March 19 primary election ballot.

The levy first passed 10 years ago and generates about $1.01 million for the general fund, according to treasurer Jennifer Bruns.

The owner of a home assessed at $100,000 will pay $161 annually, according to ballot language.

Board members approved the purchase of two new buses for a total of $245,817 from Cardinal Bus Sales.

The next board meeting is 7 p.m. Jan. 8 in the high school media center.