The Schuylkill Valley School District board took reports from buildings & grounds and operations staff on several facilities matters, including the field house design, snow removal, Flexible Instructional Days (FIDs) and recovery of the Education Center after flood damage.

Buildings & grounds reported final decisions on finishes and logos for the field house and said Phase 1 work (relocation of the softball field, jump pits) has kicked off; committee members are preparing bid specifications. On snow removal, administrators said the district moved from a contractor model to in‑house operations to control costs and now operates three pieces of plowing equipment (a dump truck, a pickup with plow and a tractor) and maintains a bulk salt supply and sidewalk calcium chloride for spot treatment. An administrator said the district used staff supervisors to operate plows and custodial staff for sidewalks and that the contractor remains available for extreme storms.

The board discussed whether to adopt more regular FID days (state rules allow up to five), and administrators outlined the operational steps that would be required: device distribution for elementary students, teacher planning time and testing of remote delivery. Board members asked that teacher input and survey questions about FID be added to the curriculum & technology committee’s survey so the board can evaluate staff and family readiness.

Doctor Keener updated the board on the Education Center flood: Perks Fire & Water had been on site, classrooms were temporarily relocated to a second‑floor area not impacted by flooding, and staff were operating with paper‑and‑pencil while moisture levels and camera wiring were repaired. "The classrooms are currently located on the 2nd Floor in an area of the building that was not impacted by any of the flooding...we just don't have the Internet access," Doctor Keener said, adding teams hope to restore normal operations when moisture readings allow.

Next steps: Buildings & grounds will finalize bid packages and continue Phase 1 scheduling; administration will follow up with the board on snow‑removal equipment/staffing and include FID feedback in the curriculum committee’s survey; Doctor Keener will report back on Education Center remediation progress.