The KND school board accepts a furniture bid for $200,000.

The KND school board accepts a furniture bid for $200,000.

 At its meeting on July 18, the district's board of education approved a move to spend up to $200,000 on classroom furnishings from Interphase Interiors with a 6-0 vote.

Jakob Veith, the superintendent, said, "This is going to be a 30- or 40-year commitment." This piece of furniture will endure for a very long time.

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Josh Morrison, a board trustee, was not present at the meeting.

The acquisition will be funded by funds from the district's November 2019-approved Zero Mill bond issue.

"The modernization of all of our facilities is included in that (bond). Our bond purchases included brand-new boilers, roofs, heating systems for every classroom, and a bus barn "explained Veith. "We're paying for our furnishings using bond money, and we still have a few additional things we want in the future. By the conclusion of the summer of the next year, we must have spent all of our bond money."

All of the furniture is created in the United States, according to Amy VanderMeer, senior designer and account executive at Interphase.

She claimed that Texas was where the majority of the goods was created. We are also considering a lot of Haworth furnishings, which are made in Holland, Michigan.

Only two classrooms will be outfitted before the start of the school year, according to Veith, who said it would be impossible to get all the furniture in place by the first day of classes.

"By the start of the school year, we won't be able to finish this. Amy will collaborate with her distributors so that she can test out two rooms at the start of the school year "said Veith. "We'll test a room at the primary school and a room in the middle/high school," the statement reads.

Currently, the district would shell out $188,377.74 to have the furniture delivered, put together on site, and relocated into the allocated rooms, however the arrangement may change based on the feedback from the pilot classroom teachers.

Veith stated, "We'll have some time at the beginning of the school year if we need to make modifications. We'll work fast to place our order, make any necessary adjustments, and have everything changed during the Christmas holiday.

According to Veith, the district asked its instructors for input to determine which furniture selections would best meet their needs.

For middle and high school, he explained, "it's more of a triangle-shaped desk that we can lock in so (kids) can gather together as a group, or they can divide them out to individuals." We have options in the primary school that we will test out. A six-person flower desk and a four-person clover desk are available. We'll have two of those desks that seat four people, two of those that seat six people, as well as some individual hexagon desks.

Veith remarked, "We'll also have moon-shaped tables for our elementary." The teacher is essentially in the centre, and the pupils can wrap around for individualised instruction.

The new academic year at KND is set to begin on August 29.

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