HERMANN — The effort begins to find a new board member for the Gasconade County R-1 School District with the departure of Director Tim Schulte, who stepped down Thursday night to prepare for his new job as the top county government official.

Schulte, who began his second term on the R-1 board in April, this summer won a three-way race for the Republican Party nomination to succeed retiring Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel, R-Hermann, and faces no opposition in the Nov. 8 General Election, making him the presumptive new presiding commissioner. He will begin his four-year term in that job on Jan. 1.

Schulte’s letter of resignation was taken up at the end of Thursday night’s regular monthly R-1 board session.

In other matters, the board heard that any big move by the district to convert to solar energy appears to be further into the future. Superintendent Geoff Neill reported that research conducted at the direction of the board showed that installing an array of solar panels would have to major impacts: It would be costly — upwards of $1 million to install and retrofit existing equipment — and it would require much space, such as requiring the use of the land between Hermann Middle School and Hermann High School as the site of the bank of solar panels.

District officials say putting the solar panels on the high school roof is not really an option, noting that the roof has about eight to 10 years of life remaining before it will have to be replaced.

“I think solar is a little bit ways off,” Neill said, recommending the district upgrade interior temperature controls to achieve better energy savings.

Communications between bus drivers and district officials will be improved with the purchase of a new radio system. The radios now in the buses have been in place for 15 to16 years, officials said, and they are analog, rather than digital. The administration recommended the purchase of digital radios, which are seen as more efficient and better performing than analog radios. Digital is more expensive, but Neill said the cost was justified in order to better ensure the safety of the students on the bus.

The board endorsed Director Mark Brooks’ motion to accept Radio Com’s bid $36,779 for replacing the radio system.

The R-1 panel also heard that the food service charge limit for students will go from $10 to $20, a move reflecting the increase in the price of school meals.

Regarding the district’s food service, administrators reported that 76 percent of the families of students responded to a survey aimed at determining eligibility for the district’s Free & Reduced Lunch Program. During the past couple years, the federal government funded programs providing free breakfast and lunch meals to all students, regardless of the families’ eligibility. But with the federal government stepping back from its support during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, school districts are returning to the eligibility requirements to qualify for federal funding for the meals programs.

Neill said it’s too early to know how many of the families will qualify for the Free & Reduced Lunch Program; the board could receive that information at its Nov. 10 session.

Hermann Elementary School students next year likely will have a new gym floor. The board authorized the administration to put out for bids the installation of a new surface. That project is estimated to cost about $60,000.