The clock is ticking.
We have 105 days and counting, said Dolores School District Superintendent Scott Cooper Tuesday night during the school board meeting during which the campaign for the BEST grant was discussed.
While the Dolores School Board of Education did not take official action to include a bond on the Nov. 6 ballot, members did indicate that they were making steps to do so Tuesday night and heard a presentation from Dan OConnell, with RBC Capital Markets.
Its a presidential election year, so you are going to have quite a turnout, OConnell said.
The School District is hoping to get a $3.47 million bond passed locally, in order to get a $2.62 million grant from the Building Excellent Schools Today program. The grant, which largely comes from School Trust Lands and State Lottery funds, will only be awarded if the match is approved by voters in the school districts attendance boundaries.
Without passing a local school bond, that money goes away and there are plenty of alternate school districts that money will go to, said OConnell.
For the average resident in the school districts attendance boundary, the bond would cost less than a gallon of gas a month, OConnell explained.
OConnell told the board that they need to get started on the campaign.
Make sure you are talking to people with a wide audience, he said.
He also added that the board needs to put together a campaign committee of about 15 to 20 people in the community.
Because the board cant do this alone, he said.
Im trying to get as many names and numbers as I can, said Dolores School District Superintendent Scott Cooper.
In total, the project list equals $6.09 million and includes a $3.7 million for the construction of new science and vocational classrooms, $619,000 for an addition to the elementary so the school connects to the commons area, $485,000 addition to the middle school, $403,000 remodel to the locker rooms, and the addition of a fire sprinkler system and site drainage improvements and new sidewalks where sidewalks are failing.
The education of the voters will be critical, said Board Member Linnea Vass.
Board member Jon Kelly agreed.
The science building is going to fail. We are going to have to rebuild it, he said. The construction of that science building is unbelievable. There are two walls that are load bearing, the rest are free flowing.
A handful of community members attended the meeting Tuesday and indicated they were interested in the campaign. One parent, said she was supportive of the effort, but worried the construction would affect classes and students.
Cooper said he was positive the students will remain the priority during the whole project.
The school board has to certify the ballot question before Aug. 28.
There are 3,274 voters in the districts attendance boundary, those that wish to register to vote, has to do so by Oct. 9.
In other action, the board approved the hiring of kitchen aide/cook Rene Strine and the resignation of transportation paraprofessional Vikki Britton and elementary paraprofessional Kelly Brumley.
Board members also voted Tuesday not to approve the high school, middle school and athletic activity handbooks because they needed more time to go over them.
Board members also voted to increase the lunch fee at the district by 10 cents. That means the price of meals will go up from $1.50 a meal to $1.60, or and increase of about $17 for a school year worth of meals per student.
