Bond vote passes for new school construction

On Tuesday, Dec. 18, District voters passed the bond vote for a new middle school, high school and remodel of the elementary.

There are 1,448 registered voters in the Faulkton Area School District with 673 voting on the bond issue. With 453 voting yes, and 220 voting no, the bond passed by 67.3%. The percentage needed was 60%. The percentage who voted was 46.48%.

On Thursday, Dec. 20, the school board approved the official canvass of the votes.

The board also hired the construction manager at risk. They had already done the interviews of several managers in anticipation of the bond passing.

The board hired Kyburz-Carlson Construction at their Dec. 20 meeting.

The bond will be for 25 years with an estimated interest rate of 4.0%. This rate may be more or less on the date of the sale of the bonds.

The annual payment of the bonds (preliminary debt service) would be $576,108 or a levy of $0.59 per $1,000 based on current taxable values. It would be level debt service over 25 years so as property values increase through new construction or inflation the levy would decrease.

• High School New Construction • $6,089,500
• Elementary School Remodel • $1,850,500
• High School Demolition • $150,000
• Contingency • $300,000
• Architectural/Engineering Fees • $560,000
• Reimbursable/Concrete & Soils Testing • $50,000
• Total Project Cost • $9,000,000

The plan consists of a new middle school and high school that will be on one level. A new library, commons, kitchen, and administrative office areas will be constructed on the site of the current middle/high school that was built in 1931. The elementary school will be renovated and remodeled. All classrooms will be gutted and remodeled. This remodeling will include a new roof system, bathrooms, flooring, ceiling, LED lights, electrical system, heating and cooling, and windows.

The project would begin with the demolition of the existing high school that will begin in June of 2019 with construction to begin shortly after and ending in August of 2020. The remodeling of the elementary school would take place in June of 2020.

While the new building is being constructed, the students will need to be moved to alternate classrooms. Meetings were held with local churches and with the City of Faulkton to use church fellowship halls and the community center. The relocation of students would be for the junior high and high= school students only. The elementary students would remain in their current classrooms. Lunches for all students will be prepared in the current kitchen and students will eat in the lunch room. There are many other areas of the dayto- day operations that will need attention. It will be the job of the administration to develop plans for a schedule and how best to provide instruction to the students while they are relocated.

An emphasis will be placed on the safety of the students and staff.

Article courtesy of the Faulk County Record.