Bond Informational Letter

To the community members of Glasgow,

As members of the Glasgow School Board, we would like to address our voting members regarding the proposed bond that will benefit our students and community for years to come. The bond will allow our school district to repair the roofs at the high school and the middle school, repair the failed boiler at the high school, and provide an outdoor athletic facility that will benefit our students and community. Bonds are used by school districts to finance needed capital expenditures that are not supported by the school budget. The Glasgow school administrative team and the school board have spent many hours reviewing information and deciding on the best course of action for our school district.

The proposed bond is for a total of $8,580,000 with the building improvement costs and athletic facility costs each representing about half of the total. The bond will run for 20 years and will cost $4.88 per month for a homeowner with a residence value of $100,000, $9.75 for a home value of $200,000, or $14.63 for a home value of $300,000. A calculator will be placed on the school website to calculate rates for larger property owners.

Early this year, we contracted with McKinstry to complete a facility needs assessment. Some of our school structures are aging, and we wanted to be aware of any areas that needed attention and improvement. During that assessment, we were presented with many more immediate needs than we anticipated. The condition of portions of the roofs at both the high school and the middle school was startling. The roof over the classrooms at the high school is a sealed foam roof. The foam has multiple depressions where water pools and areas that are not well-sealed, resulting in rainwater entering the foam. Once water enters the foam, it not only negatively affects the insulation value, but is often unable to escape. As the foam takes on water, it becomes heavy and there is a risk of collapse. It is vitally important to the longevity of our high school to replace this portion of the roof. The section of the roof at the middle school has aged beyond repair. It has multiple areas where snowmelt and heavy rains result in water leaking through the roof and into student learning areas. Every time the roof leaks, there is more damage that occurs internally, which leads to costly repairs.

One of the boilers at the high school failed this spring while the weather was still cold. We thankfully have two boilers and one remained functional, allowing time to replace the failed boiler. The new boiler is more compact and much more efficient than the old boilers that were installed when the high school was built. The energy costs to run our schools are astounding; please see our budget reports for the monthly bills that are paid to utilities. Any improvements we can make that will lower our energy costs will lower our operating costs. The general fund for any public school is very limited and funds saved can be used in other ways to promote student learning.

Consider if this was your home and the roof was leaking, not well-insulated, or at risk of falling in. What if the heating system failed? What would you do? We feel the only answer is to fix the problems well and soon.

The track and field at the high school is also in need of attention. Because it does look nice at a distance, it is easy to think that it can be managed with some minor updates. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The ground under the Scottie track and field is unstable. Leveling the soil and replacing the sod will not fix the problem. We could do that, but in a few years' time, the ground would heave and cause the same problems that we are having now, including large depressions in the field and cracks in the track. These issues pose risks to athletes who are competing on our track and field. With the passage of this bond, the soil will be amended and drainage added to ensure the stability of the track and field for years to come. We chose a turf field because of the cost savings over the years of use. Teams will be able to practice on the field, so a practice field will not have to be maintained. We will eliminate the need to water and mow the field. Overall, after 10 years' time, the turf field will be saving the district money.

We understand that this is a large bond to fill a great need, but we feel that it is important to share our school's needs with the community and make a significant step forward, rather than allowing our structures to age and potentially fail. Please ask any questions that you may have to a school board member or any member of the administrative team. We are asking that you carefully consider the needs of our school district when you receive your mailed ballot for this bond at the end of September.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Your Glasgow School Board: Angela Page, Ryan Fast, Blaine White, Stan Ozark and Chrissa Nelson