School Building Committee Has Options

Glasgow Superintendent Bob Connors addressed about 20 school administrators and community members at a School Building Committee meeting Monday, explaining the splitting of the school bond issue into two questions for the voters.

He said that one vote will be on a $16.8 million bond for building or renovation of three school buildings: a new elementary building, additions to East Side and improvements to the high school.

A separate $2 million bond will be offered for another list of options, including making the central office handicap-compliant, remodeling the auditorium, repainting the basketball floor, refinishing the cracked track, moving the long-and triple-jump runways, turfing a multipurpose athletic center, paving the high school parking lot (or at least the outer perimeter), creating a walking path and finishing the HVAC at the high school.

They know the bond will not cover all of them, he said, and a lot of voices will contribute to prioritizing the list.

“This is community-based stuff,” Connors said. “We want to be community-based schools.”

Housing is very tight in Glasgow, so providing teacher housing might be possible. Matt Ulberg, an engineer with DG&A, the company that is working on Glasgow’s growth policy, said there is a “golden opportunity” for a subdivision on school land south of the high school. A teacherage could be self-funded, he said.

People said they want to see the new school building “done right,” unlike what was done at Irle School the last time. Some asked for a separate cafeteria that includes a stage, because gyms are always so tightly scheduled.

Plans for the schools are still vague because the design phase comes later, Connors said. The committee is getting cost estimates for architects now. None has been hired yet.

These school bonds will only increase taxes on residents in the Glasgow School District, Connors emphasized. These are people in the city limits, whose tax statements begin with the numbers “109” and those in the Glasgow area whose tax numbers begin with “100.”