Chester school board notes: Football field grass is wilting under lots of use
Overuse of the Chester High School football field may be why the field grass never truly recovers, according to Brad Kueker from Kueker Landscaping, who discussed seeding the field with the school board.
For the field to be in good shape for next season, Kueker recommends a blend of grass called HTD, developed specifically for playing fields and is used on most soccer fields in the St. Louis area. The cost for the seed alone would be $1,800.
Kueker said seeding should ideally be done in the fall, but that is when the field gets its most use. A spring planting would require constant watering during the summer's heat to get the roots established, he said, and a second over-seeding would probably still need to be done in the fall.
Kueker said the real challenge is what he termed the overuse of the field - with the high school teams, band practice, and the Pewee Stingers, the field does not get much opportunity to recover.
Several suggestions were mentioned regarding curtailing the use but none of them were thought to be viable.
Mowing it differently was discussed and board considered buying a Zero Turn Mower, which cost $8,000 to $10,000 but are available by lease. After 30 minutes, the matter was tabled to give the board time to look at other possibilities.
New software
The Chester School Board approved buying three software programs. Evaluwise Software, used for teacher evaluations, is priced at $5,985 and is viewed as the most effective way to streamline the teacher evaluation process to help meet the state and district standards.
Power School is a payroll and finance program, and the existing program the district now uses will be phased out over the next year as it expires in June 2020. The new program will overlap and replace the old one at a cost of $40,716 spread out over three years.
The Student Management System was extended one year for $11,360. It helps the school manage data, communication and scheduling. This data is appropriately communicated to students, faculty and parents and is considered to be one of the top student management systems available.
Other news
Repairs to the Grade School roof - necessary because of leaks - will cost $10,554.08, and the board approved hiring ServePro to do the work. As well, bids for the HVAC system are expected to be let on March 19.
Superintendent Brian Pasero told the board he wants to add three positions at the elementary school, for kindergarten and Social Studies. Pasero said he would like to conduct interviews for these positions this spring.
Lohman Lawncare was given a two-year contract to mow around the high school area (not the football field). The cost is $24,000 - the contract calls for 60 cuts at $400 a cut with additional work as needed at $25 an hour. The grade school mowing will be done by maintenance staff.
- Don Berry