The Garden City Telegram
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Board revises plans for school building project
Published 3/31/2009 in Local News : Education
By MONICA SPRINGER
mspringer@gctelegram.com
LEOTI — The Wichita County USD 467 Board of Education is close to finalizing plans that could lead to new facilities for the district.
The board met Monday night to talk about what the schools would look like as a result of a series of community meetings held in January.
The community wanted four things: The middle school saved and used, the high school utilized more, a downsized physical education facility for elementary students and energy upgrades.
Under the board's current plans, discussed Monday night, the current middle school would be turned into a grade school for kindergartners through sixth-graders, with an academic dome and a physical education dome attached to the building. The high school would house grades 7 through 12 with one dome for physical education. The district is planning to save about $100,000 by making the current middle school energy efficient, which is included in the $4.5 million cost of turning the building into a grade school.
The district is trying to replace R.B.S. Elementary School, parts of which are 84 years old. This is the district's fourth attempt to replace the structure.
The last bond election in February 2008 asked voters to approve a $5 million bond issue that called for a five-dome complex designed for low-cost construction and energy efficiency. The dome complex was to be for kindergartners through sixth-graders, attached by a covered walkway to the north side of Wichita County Junior High School.
It was defeated by a vote of 381-376.
The board has tossed around ideas since the community meetings, but ultimately, it listened to the community's wishes, USD 467 Superintendent Jim Hardy said.
The district has three separate school buildings and wants to build the domes by the junior high and high school buildings on Indian Street. Currently, there are 123 students enrolled in high school, 106 in the junior high and 239 in the grade school.
"This has brought the community together," Hardy said. "It's the community's plan. It's a really good feeling."
The board also is planning to build a metal vocational and agriculture building by the current high school.
The bond issue's $4.5 million price tag includes only plans to turn the middle school into a grade school and to build a metal building for vocational and agriculture classes.
Wichita County Economic Development will give the board a $500,000 grant to build a physical education dome that will be attached to the high school if the voters support the issue. The district decided on Monday night to contribute $200,000 from its capital outlay fund to the high school dome project, meaning that portion will not be paid with bond money.
The board agreed that the maximum amount they will pay for the high school PE dome is $700,000.
During the meeting, the board called Leland Gray, an architect from Salt Lake City that the board has been consulting with through the facilities discussion that started in January.
Gray told the board he can build a PE dome for $700,000, but said he needed extra time to work out details, such as the number and locations of bathrooms and the location of a locker room.
Plans for the dome may change, but include a weight room and locker room, along with bathrooms and a multi-purpose room that can be used as a classroom or a mat room for wrestling.
No action was taken at the meeting, although the board did agree on the price for the single PE dome that would be attached to the high school if the issue passes.
The board, along with Hardy, will meet with the district's financial adviser either late this week or early next week to draft the language that will allow the board to proceed with a bond issue.
Hardy said he and the board plan to meet with community members in late April to give presentations.
"This is something the community can be proud of," he said.
Board president Kathy Bangerter agreed.
"We feel really good," Bangerter said.
Talk about Wichita County's school facility plan in the Current Events forum at SWKTalk.com.
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