Glasgow To Vote On School Bond Election

Glasgow voters have a big decision to make before ballots start arriving at the end of the month. The Glasgow School Board approved a bond election for voters on Aug. 8, asking voters to approve a $8,580,000 bond to pay for facility improvements in the district, including replacing the Glasgow High School track and football field with synthetic surfaces and amenities, replacing or repairing sections of the Glasgow High School roof and Glasgow Middle School roof, replacing a boiler at the Glasgow High School and if monies are available, improving the traffic area in front of Irle Elementary School.

The election will be administered by the Valley County Election Administrator and will be a mail-ballot election. Ballots will be mailed out on Friday, Sept. 29, and must be returned by Tuesday, Oct. 17.

The cost of the bond is expected to be paid off in 20 years. The estimated monthly cost to a homeowner with a residence valued at $100,000 would be $4.88 or $58.51 annually. The estimated monthly cost to a homeowner with a residence valued at $200,000 would be $9.75 or $117.02 annually and the cost for a home valued at $300,000 would be $14.63 per month or $175.53 annually. The School District has posted a calculator on their website to determine the exact tax impact on an individual:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mKgyeRuorOhY1fsd19_3797rpVt57d9_yhXF3OdbiLQ/edit?usp=sharing.

Last winter, one of the boilers at the Glasgow School, which according to the District was 80 years old, failed, resulting in the immediate need to replace it prior to this winter. The project is currently underway as a result of an emergency 10-year INTERCAP loan the District took out earlier in the summer in the amount of $400,000. The project is expected to be completed by this winter to ensure adequate heat for students and staff at the high school.

In the spring of 2023, the School District contracted with McKinstry to complete a facility needs assessment on the District’s buildings. During the April 26 special board meeting, Tyler Bush, with McKinstry, presented his prioritized summary report, which the trustees reviewed and discussed the high priority items. The top priority items were the Glasgow High School boiler and roof repair items for both the high school and middle school. At that time, Trustee Ryan Fast approved hiring McKinstry LLC to replace the Glasgow High School boilers at a cost of $560,000, to be funded with District funds and a loan while Trustee Chrissa Nelson seconded the motion. After Chairman Angie Page called for any discussion and hearing none, she called for a vote of the motion, which carried.

According to the District, the Glasgow Middle School roof has not had any major repairs in 40 years and there is currently no warranty in place to cover the area of the roof where the repairs are needed. Small repairs have been completed over the years with the most recent in 2011 and 2012 school years where $36,995 was spent for patching and repair.

The Glasgow High School has not had any roof repairs since 2011, where a small patch job was done for $46,492. The biggest roof repair in the district occurred in 2002 at Glasgow High School with two repairs totaling $272,292, which was done on a different section than what is currently needing repair.

The must needed future repairs on both roofs would assure the inside of the buildings are kept free from outside elements and also avoid a partial or potentially complete structural collapse.

Also included in the bond asking of voters includes a phase of the Scottie Recharged Project, replacing the failing asphalt track with a post-tensioned concrete all weather track at Scottie Field, replace the unsafe natural grass football field with synthetic All Weather Field Turf at Scottie Field and replace the partially-failed incandescent lights with cost-effective LED light technology at Scottie Field. The cost for this project is currently at $5 million, or 58 percent of the proposed bond for voters.

Current issues with the track include a six-foot wide sinkhole on Lane 1 on the straightway; the Triple/Long Jump (west runway) is experiencing sagging and showing signs of failure; nearly 50 percent of the track’s rubberized surface is loose or deteriorating to the point of no repair; the Pole Vault area (east runway) has experienced complete deterioration and is no longer viable; and the southeast and northeast corners of the track have large crack that have developed over time.

If passed, the renovations would start as early as May 23, 2024, with the turf field ready for the first Home football game on Sept. 6, 2024. The track would then be completed before the snow and would be ready for the Scottie Invitational on April 4, 2025. With the time line of construction, it is expected that athletes would not miss a season on their home facility.

In a letter to the community earlier this month, the Glasgow School Board stressed the following, “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.”