The Indian Lake Board of Education passed two important resolutions in the August meeting that will impact IL Athletics for years to come.
Members of the board approved an urgent agreement with Final Floors to replace the Indian Lake High School Main Gym Floor immediately.
IL Superintendent Dr. Rob Underwood explains the gym roof was damaged by hail from the tornado, then water leaked onto the gym floor during roof repairs, ruining it over the summer.
"Because the gym was damaged by the roofing crew, their insurance company is actually going to pay for the floor, however we have to pay the invoice up front. The floor will be installed, we will pay the invoice and then be reimbursed, so there will be no cost to the district."
Dr. Underwood says the estimated cost of the floor is around $154,000. The materials have been delivered and crews are now working. The expected completion date is October 1st.
In addition, board members voted to established free passes for all Indian Lake K-12 students for the 2024-25 Indian Lake hosted regular season athletic events. Dr. Underwood explains that the administration team had studied this possibility a few years ago and didn't think it was feasible at the time, but decided it was time to investigate further.
"We looked at it again and I made the recommendation to the board that we try it for this year, to first of all, see if it changes attendance at games--not that we've had issues with students attending games, but the more students we have there, the better. We want them to be there to enjoy those events. So we're going to analyze it for this school year and see how it actually impacts the budget and see if it's something we can continue into the future. We're excited to give this opportunity to our students."
Instructions on how to obtain student passes will be posted in the coming days. Also, an email from Hometown Ticketing will go out to all those who have already purchased a sports pass this year to explain the refund process. Finally, the board also authorized the district to advertise for bids on a possible new bus garage project on the south end of campus near County Road 91. The potential new bus facility is needed to work on today's larger buses that do not fit into our current bus facility and to move bus parking away from the center of campus.
The next Indian Lake Board of Education meeting is set for September 25, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.