Asbestos Will Be Removed at Gros Cap School
Halonen Is Named Employee of the Year
By Paul Gingras

Plans for Gros Cap School's building and site fund were made by the school board at its Monday, May 21 meeting, at which time members declared Jonas Halonen the district's employee of the year and approved the hiring of an aide next year.

Mr. Halonen, the school's parttime special education teacher, holds one-on-one and small group learning sessions for students having trouble mastering basic skills.

Owing to the death of a relative, Mr. Halonen was not available for comment by press time.

Recently re-elected to their seats, board trustee Mike Cope and treasurer Nancy Dandona took oaths of office at the meeting. Their positions have been renewed for four years. Ms. Dandona has been on the board for 12 years and Mr. Cope for four years.

Funding for school operations is secure for the next three years, following a vote Tuesday, May 8, to renew the district's 16.8743 non-homestead millage, which is a tax on second homes and businesses. A mill is an assessment equal to $1 for each $1,000 in taxable property value.

With school operation funding taken care of, the board has turned its attention to improving the building. The district will remove all asbestos this summer, Superintendent Bill Peltier said.

Asbestos is a flame retardant that was once a common building material. Airborne particles of asbestos can cause cancer, and remodeling projects will expose the building's remaining asbestos, which is currently sealed off in classrooms, near furnaces, in the basement work room, the kitchen, and bathrooms.

By next fall, students will walk on new carpet and commercial flooring, and the asbestos will be gone. Tile is being removed because it requires too much maintenance, Mr. Peltier said. It is wearing out quickly and needs to be waxed frequently, owing to dirt and mud tracked into the building.

The new commercial flooring will not require waxing, which will reduce maintenance expenses.

A landscaping project will include planting more grass to cut down on the amount of dirt that makes its way into the building.

Cost estimates for these projects should be available at the June school board meeting, Mr. Peltier added.

The school is bracing for an estimated $35,000 to $42,000 repayment demand by Wisconsinbased American Transmission Company. American alleges that Moran Township overtaxed the company on its power lines and substations from 2002 to 2006. The township government contends that it followed a tax table provided by the state government, and it has hired a lawyer to review the matter.

Gros Cap School received the bulk of the tax money paid by American. Since most energy companies have won lawsuits regarding overtaxing by municipalities, the school must plan for repayment.

The payment can be made with a reserve fund for unanticipated expenses, Mr. Peltier said.