Esko breaks ground on new fitness center

Work should begin on the Esko fitness center next week. The project is behind schedule by more than a fortnight, school board members heard Monday night. The permitting process was the first snag to overcome, according to John Erickson and Ian Bradshaw of DSGW Architects. They indicated the state took longer than expected to sign off on its portion, adding that the application was made in March, which allowed an extra three weeks for a study that usually takes 45 days.

“The state plan review just got completed last week,” Erickson said.

Local permits are the next step, and footings and foundations cannot be started without them. “[We] could have moved some dirt around [before now] but that might have created a swamp. … Equipment will be starting to show up this week,” Erickson promised Monday, with actual work starting the next week.

The end date still looks like November, with a possibility of getting done by the end of October. All of it depends on whether or not the structural steel shows up on time.

ICS representative Nathan Norton presented the board with two possible color schemes for the interior, one with brighter blues to match Esko branding and the other with more neutral colors. Board members unanimously went for the more neutral tones. Because Esko has made no decision on a new mascot, lettering on the outside of the building will be on hold for now.

Activity fees are going up this year. Varsity sports, for example, will increase from $150 last year to $175 starting this fall. Superintendent Aaron Fischer explained that personnel costs are going up.

“Reffing fees [increased] 20 percent per year in the last three years,” he said as an example.

Fischer asserted pay increases were needed to retain clock workers, ticket workers, and game managers, and “we have to add another employee to the basketball seasons because there's now a shot clock.” Increased fees were approved unanimously along with no changes to ticket prices.

For the first time ever, Esko has issued the Athletics Parents Handbook, a guide for parents of Esko athletes that sets guidelines and expectations for parents as well as student athletes. Among other things, there is a frank discussion about sportsmanship and a section entitled, “Parent Pledge,” which emphasizes parental self control during games. Also included are procedures for signup, fees, uniforms and a formal process for handling complaints.

Fischer emphasized the section entitled, “Participation Pyramid,” which explains that as athletes move from junior high to junior varsity to varsity, fewer individuals make the team and fewer get to play. At the higher levels, “Coaches will decide,” he emphasized, “who they think is best and play them as much as they see fit. That's a philosophy, by the way, not every parent will agree with … but tonight, by you approving this, it becomes your philosophy.”

Board chairman Jerry Frederick approved.

“It looks fantastic to me,” Frederick said. “Hopefully, this will eliminate some of the conversations [that should be] between the parents and coaches, principals or superintendents that are [instead] coming directly to the board.”

The handbook was approved unanimously on a voice vote.