School Board votes to update high school math curriculum

The Petersburg School Board voted during a July 31special session to repair a leaky boiler and update the 8-12 mathematics curriculum.

Tye Petersen, Petersburg School’s Maintenance Director says he’s already capped several leaks in the tube where heated water flows but couldn’t maintain a tight seal in the latest repair. An inspector told Petersen the tubes needed to be replaced.

“They’ve been retubed once in their lifetime,” Petersen said during the meeting. “There are two boilers. One can handle the current capacity but not in the wintertime.”

A company out of Seward, Jaffa Construction, Inc., will work on the boiler. Retubing comes with a $33,630 price tag—a cost Petersburg School District Finance Director Karen Quitslund said will come out of the school district’s capital development fund.

“Things happen that you can never plan on and if we have funds left over at the end of the school year they get put into this capital fund,” Quitslund said. “It’s rare that they do so but there have been years when some funds have rolled over.”

The capital development fund currently holds approximately $800,000.

The board also voted to update Petersburg High School’s current math textbooks to The University of Chicago School Mathematics Project curriculum, or UCSMP.

Superintendent Robert Thomason said schools are required to update textbooks on a seven-year cycle.

Thomason said several high school teachers have used UCSMP books in the past and are supportive of the transition.