Committee gets ball rolling on new facility

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November 29, 2012 - 12:00 AM

The ball started rolling in a positive direction for the USD 257 facilities planning committee Wednesday night.
Committee members decided to bring in Piper Jaffray, a firm that specializes in bond financing, and to begin the process of hiring an architect for master strategic facilities planning.
This project has been long in the making, with committees having met since 2005.
Members have toured newly built elementary schools in Chanute and Garnett. An aspect members liked was safety features. In Garnett and Chanute all children are in one building and there are check-in points for all visitors.
A new building would not only help the students but the staff as well. Teachers in most of the Iola schools, especially in the elementary schools, have to make do. Classes are held in hallways, and in some cases old locker rooms and storage closets, with no central air or heating and poor ventilation.
“It is really tough when you look at those kids who are having to have class in the hallways or in places they shouldn’t be,” Lincoln Elementary Principal Larry Hart said. 
In April 2010 a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, options and threats) analysis was conducted. The survey outlined what members wanted to see in a new school and the concerns they had with taking on a project like a new facility. A major concern was an increase in property taxes.
Currently the school district is in a tough situation. If building a new facility is put off or not done, then the school district will have to continue to spend money on renovations, which eventually will lead to a request for a general bond obligation — and higher taxes — to deal with renovations and upgrades, just to maintain the status quo.
“Do you keep dumping money into 100 year old buildings or do you invest and build something new,” said Scott Stanley, director of operations. “We keep renovating rooms that weren’t meant to be classrooms.”
In addition to providing students, faculty and staff with an appropriate working and learning environment, a new facility would keep Iola in competition with surrounding communities.
Chanute and Garnett both have built new facilities and Garnett soon will build a new hospital.
“It really worries me,” said Brian Pekarek, superintendent of schools. “We have Chanute with a new hospital, new school and Garnett with a new hospital, new school.”
Schools are a major driving force for residential decisions among homeowners with families.
“What would happen to Iola if we don’t,” Lisa Wicoff said. “Kids are resilient, and most of them don’t know what a nice facility is like, but we also don’t want to become a ghost town.”

THE COMMITTEE chose Wicoff and Georgia Masterson to relay the committee’s decision to the USD 257 board members on Dec. 10.
At that meeting a representatives from Piper and Jaffray will provide bond and tax numbers.
Brian Pekarek, Stanley and Masters begin the screening process for an architect. They will narrow options down to three for board members’ consideration. The final interview process will be in open session at board meetings.
Once hired, the architectural team will develop plans for a school.
“We don’t have to keep the architect if we are unhappy with the product, we won’t be locked into one option,” Pekarek said.

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