LE ROY — Southern Coffey County school officials will celebrate the grand opening of the district’s new Career and Technical Education building with a Sept. 21 ribbon-cutting.
The building, which houses state-of-the-art classrooms for both high school and middle school science courses, as well as a workshop and ag classrooms, was years in the making, noted Matt Thomsen, USD 245 superintendent of schools.
“We worked really hard at getting that (bond issue) to pass, and we put it all out there,” Thomsen said. “We were very transparent about our plan and how much money it would cost.”
After months of studies and informational meetings on what district voters would support, organizers favored a no-frills facility, but plenty in terms of functionality, Thomsen said.
The work began in the fall of 2021, when school officials recognized several deficiencies in its 98-year-old high school.
For example, the old science lab, held on the second floor, lacked gas lines to use Bunsen burners, instructor Emily Crabtree noted.
“There were things you were supposed to have in your old facility that we could not do,” she said. “Now, we have more flexibility without having to take our classes outside, or hold them in the gym for space.”
“Really, it was embarrassing to walk up there and say, ‘Hey, this is where our kids have been learning science,’ and to point out our ag classroom was essentially a garage,” Thomsen said. “But it was good because people got their eyes opened.”
The initial steps involved creating a citizens committee, which led to the hiring of DCS Services to serve as construction manager, and to do a full-scale analysis of what taxpayers would support.
More than a year of information-gathering, tours and community surveys followed before the school board settled on a $2 million project, includng the new CTE building, upgraded fire suppression systems at SCC Elementary School in Gridley and new preschools in both Le Roy and Gridley.
“DCS did a fantastic job of getting us a very close estimate of what it would cost, and what would be supported,” Thomsen said. “They did a great job of leading us through our community meetings.”
Even then, passage was anything but certain.
Voters approved the bond question in a special May 2024 election by five votes, 215 to 210.
“All you need is one more ‘yes’ vote,” Thomsen said.
With 170 students in K-12, Southern Coffey County is among the smallest school districts in the state, a fact not lost on opponents, Thomsen said.
“We may not have as many in our district as others, but they deserve the best that we can provide as well,” Thomsen said. “The 170 kids that we do have are just as important as the 500 kids wherever else.”
