Editor’s Note: The following story covers the Dec. 15 Carroll School Board meeting. An agenda item about administrator contracts was set aside until a specially called meeting for Dec. 22, which fell after the Comet deadline for this week’s paper. Updated information about decisions made on the contracts will appear on the Comet website today, with full coverage in next week’s paper.

It was a packed house at the Dec. 15 Carroll School Board meeting. Teachers, parents, and students crowded into the small boardroom.

Extra attendees came to the meeting for item number 10 on the agenda – administrator contracts.

A year ago at this time, the board halted the extension of principal Charles Huckstep’s contract. As a result of that action, the junior-senior high school administrator’s contract was not extended beyond June 30, 2010. By taking no action on other administrators’ contracts, they were automatically extended an additional year, to 2011.

So there was public interest in seeing what would happen to Huckstep’s contract this year.

After approving board minutes, corporation vouchers, and routine reports, board president Sam Zook said the agenda would be amended.

“Because of the attendance, we’ll jump down to item number 10,” he said.

Board member Dave Lambert moved to set aside item 10, administrator contracts, until the next meeting. Rick Eller then moved to set the next meeting for Dec. 22 at 6:30 p.m. After a brief discussion, and anticipating another crowd, the board set the meeting place in the high school auditorium.

Some of the crowd left after that, but some stayed. At the end of the meeting, Zook called for public comments, but no one spoke.

Back to the regular agenda, architect Brian Walker reported on the junior-senior high school chiller project.

He reviewed with the board about taking out the two old steam boilers and equipment, and adding one or two new hot water system boilers.

Posts will start in the boiler room and go up through the roof to help support a platform that will hold the chiller. New electrical equipment also will be installed.

Estimated cost of the chiller project, according to superintendent John Sayers, is $625,000.

Walker is to provide more cost information on the boilers. Under consideration are two boilers, one with 3 million BTUs and one with 2 million BTUs. Zook suggested possibly making the smaller boiler an alternate to the base bid.

When new electrical equipment is installed, the existing water softener will need to be relocated or replaced with a new system. Walker said the cost for a new softener to be purchased and installed would be $16,000. The softener was being discussed as another alternate.

Walker set a timeline of the end of January for advertising for bids, Feb. 9 for receiving bids, starting the project over spring break, and completion before school starts in August 2010. So if everything goes well, there should be air conditioning by next school year.

The board adopted two resolutions for additional appropriations – one for up to $350,000 out of the Rainy Day Fund and one for $800,000 out of the general fund. Sayers explained that the resolutions authorize spending money that the corporation already has but is more than was appropriated in the original budget.

“It does not affect the tax rate,” he said.

Sayers said both additional appropriations have been advertised.

The board approved math textbook adoption committees for both schools. They include teachers and parents.

Serving on the elementary school committee will be Caren Johnson, Kathy Northcutt, Malinda Blocher, Amy Cottrell, Janelle Gish, Mike Hyman, Jana Conn, Kari McIlrath, Steve May, and Andrea Cable.

Serving on the junior-senior high school committee will be David Kratz, Erica Eller, Susan Abbott, Susan Eldridge, Michelle Wagoner, Ryan Duff, Rex Charles, Linda Harrold, Tracy Miller, Jayne Huckstep, Gary Duff, Rhonda Hicks, Linda Shanks, Ruth Ann Lewis, and Lori Kinzie.

Also approved was a fundraiser sponsored by girls and boys basketball. The event will be Coaches vs Cancer on Jan. 29 and 30.

The first regular meeting of the new year will be Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Administration Building.