District looks to facilities upgrade
By Felicia A. Petro, Allied News, Grove City, Pa. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Superintendent Dr.
Business manager
The defibrillators are used in the event of someone having a heart attack; each one was purchased at the same time but are now outdated, she said.
Some large items include finishing a carpet replacement cycle this year at
The high school's stage needs about
Outdoor safety lighting, a floor scrubber and salt spreader, fence renovations at Forker, roofing, parking lot/sidewalk repairs and carpet at the district office were other needs she discussed. A lift van for handicapped children is needed; the current one has more than 88,000 miles, Buchanan added.
That is low mileage compared to the maintenance department van's more than 145,000 miles. The department will get the lift van and the lift will be removed, Buchanan said. Maintenance also needs a tractor with a plow, she noted.
Some of the items "are things you don't think about every day," Mextorf noted, like the high school stage.
Forker's 10-year turf will need to be replaced in one to four years. That will cost
Forker gets muddy and has issues with bathrooms, parking and handicapped accessibility, he said.
In building the field, "There was some nostalgia in that process," Mextorf said. "It was in the center of town and people could walk."
The high school auditorium sound system is also an immediate need, but may take a couple of years to acquire because Mextorf suggested live stream and recording for programs that would put the estimate at about
People could watch on
The most immediate short-term goal in the district is to establish an ad hoc committee of board members to investigate the needs at
Hillview was renovated 1994; the high school, 1997. The middle school was constructed in 2009 -- and is the freshest among the buildings.
Another long-term plan would establish a district-wide facilities master plan with the help of a firm, calling it
"Part of process would be a
Mextorf also suggested an energy conservation specialist to look at the short- and long-term needs of the district, and a financial adviser "to look at strategies to afford these things," he said.
"There are three guiding questions," Mextorf added, such as what the role of public education will be in 2040, what type of learning kids will receive and spaces to accommodate that learning.
"Now's the time to do this, to look at short-term and long-term. "The ad hoc committee can at least investigate the needs of
A professional firm could be hired for the 2040 plan, with a citizens advisory council, energy manager and financial adviser.
The district's insurance provider said that
The only debt the district has is a bond to fund the middle school project. It is about
However, the bond was refinanced to reflect those numbers. It was originally about
"Borrowing money costs us a lot of money. If we fund the capital reserve up front, we won't have the finance costs," Buchanan said.
The district is also putting money into its retirement funds and health care, Mextorf said.
By next month, the board will establish a citizens advisory committee to look into
Mextorf said by Monday's voting meeting that he will have moved forward in getting firms to give presentations. "I'm willing to look into all of these," he said.
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