New SLE App announced, board denies solar array proposal

SEELEY LAKE – At their Nov. 15 meeting, the Seeley Lake Elementary School Board denied the request from Missoula Electric Cooperative (MEC) for the Community Solar Project and approved the modified school calendar for second semester. The board also received several updates from Superintendent Josh Gibbs regarding the new SLE App for parents, COVID quarantine recommendations and use for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding

At the September Board meeting, MEC presented a proposal to install a 47.6 kW Community Solar Array on top of SLE. Member ratepayers would voluntarily fund the Array and MEC would give contributors a payment or credit on their cooperative bill for their share of the value of the electricity generated by the solar energy system. They were told in the presentation that the school would receive a $25 per year credit.

The board still had questions regarding insurance and liability at their October board meeting so they tabled the decision.

Gibbs shared MEC’s General Manager Mark Hayden’s responses to their questions at the November meeting. Gibbs said that Hayden said MEC’s insurance would cover vandalism to the array since they own the panels.

Board member Kathy Teague pointed out that the proposal contracts MEC’s response with the statement, “In addition, MEC shall not be responsible for any loss, damage, cost or expense arising out of or resulting from the acts of third parties, improper environmental controls or improper operation or maintenance of the Project by anyone other than MEC or MEC’s contractors.”

Gibbs reported that MEC said the responsibility and liability should the roof collapse would come down to the legal liability and if the damage done to the property was due to MEC negligence. MEC’s insurance does not cover “an act of God.”

Gibbs said his fear is the roof could collapse if there is a big snowstorm and the added weight of the panels. Since a snowstorm is considered an “act of God,” and MEC’s insurance would not cover it, it would fall on SLE’s insurance.

Teague said that hiring someone to remove snow could also open them up to added repair costs should the array be damaged.

Gibbs added that when the project was proposed, it was presented as a benefit to the lower income families in the community. Even if it is and families receive $25 per year, while that is nice, he didn’t feel, as a school district, it was worth the liability to put that on the roof.

“For the risk or maintenance liability and the return that the school gets of $25 a year, I don’t think this is a good project for the school,” Gibbs said.

Teague added, in addition to the liability issues Gibbs raised, she sees a lot of “traps” and hidden costs to the proposal.

• SLE would be required to advertise and sell the panels with a split in the cost. She felt the school employees are not sales people.

• The renewable energy credit that is earned from the array goes to MEC, not SLE or the community.

• If something happened to the array that was part of SLE’s responsibility, they would be required to fix it at their time and expense.

“Is it worth for the return we get?” Teague asked. “Is it worth taking that money away for the educational support of our students? No, it is not. We love our community but we are here to educate the children of our community. That has to come first and anything else we can do in the community is just icing on the cake.”

Chair Kyle Marx and Trustee Gary Wayne agreed.

“It seems like it is something MEC can get a nice rebate on and something that the school takes on with a big liability with really no rewards whatsoever,” Marx said. “It doesn’t seem like it is worth it for the school.”

With no other public comment, the board unanimously voted to deny the community solar project proposed by MEC.

During his update, Gibbs reported that they have only had one new positive COVID case in the school since the Oct. 18 board meeting. They are still checking temperatures as everyone enters the building since it is a simple thing they can do.

As of the last week in October, the Missoula City-County Health Department shifted from quarantine orders to recommendations. While close contacts of positive cases are still identified and notified by the school and the Health Department, Gibbs said it is now up to the parents whether they want to keep their child home or not. He said prior to this change, there were some students that had missed nearly 20 days of school just for being identified as a close contact. This has helped keep kids in school that otherwise would have had to be at home.

SLE has a new app that parents can download onto their phones. Gibbs said this will allow parents to get notifications on their phone and he can send out push notifications to anyone with the app if there were an emergency or school closure. Not only does he feel this will allow another avenue to reach parents, he is also excited about the opportunity to celebrate student success and happenings in the classroom since it will only be available to those with the app.

Gibbs said they are making progress on the projects identified for the ESSER funds. He has a meeting with Big Sky Restaurant Supply to discuss the kitchen remodel and if an architect is needed for the improvements. They are also looking at upgrading the doors, windows and possibly updating some of the bathrooms as funding is available.

The board approved the revised school calendar for spring semester. Students will be released at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 20, Feb. 24 and April 21. Teachers will attend training in the afternoon meeting the request to offer staff training and development throughout the year. There will be no early-out day in March due to spring break.

In other business the board unanimously approved the edits to the 5,000 series policies and Mary Strumpfer as the assistant boys basketball coach.

The next meeting will be held Dec. 20 at 5:30 p.m. The Superintendent Evaluation is on the agenda.