By EMILY BEHLMANN

ebehlmann@gctelegram.com

Another round of storm cleanup lies ahead for the USD 363 Board of Education, which meets Monday night.

Superintendent Robert O'Connor said hail this week caused minor damage to 17 skylights and the south gym at Holcomb Elementary School, and the board will be discussing repairs to the building.

The damage comes after an August storm that caused severe problems at Holcomb High School, ripping off portions of the roof and flooding the gym, cafeteria, auditorium, and some classrooms and hallways. The district also has been doing work this school year on the north gym of Holcomb Elementary, which experienced water damage in August and in the past.

"It seems like a never-ending maintenance year this year, but we'll get through it," O'Connor said.

He said there already were roof issues in need of attention on the elementary's south gym, but that the hail has made it more of a priority.

Also Monday, the board will consider bids for repairing bleachers on the visitors' side of the football field, after they were damaged in the August storm.

In other business, the board will be asked whether to hire an additional fifth-grade teacher.

Currently, there are four teachers at each of the elementary grade levels except fifth, where there are three teachers, so class sizes are usually large at the fifth-grade level, O'Connor said USD 363 has been declining in enrollment for the past several years, going from 933 students in 2000 to 849 students in 2008. However, with a new transfer policy, the district has recently opened its doors to non-Holcomb residents who meet certain criteria. O'Connor said that so far, about 20 students have registered to transfer in for next school year.

The board also will consider bids for about 60 laptop computers, primarily to be used by teachers. Some teachers already have laptops, so if their computers were replaced with newer ones, the older ones would go in labs for use by the general middle school and elementary school student body. Each Holcomb High School student is issued a laptop computer at the beginning of each school year, and O'Connor said that these computers are generally in good condition. However, in coming years, they probably will be replaced on a rotation to keep them up to date, he said.