Comments to
Eric Dolson, Publisher

Schools hammer out bond details
By Jim Cornelius

Failed to execute CGI : Win32 Error Code = 3
The Sisters School Board balked at asking voters for a $24 million high school during an intense, three-hour workshop with architects and staff on March 1.

Several board members indicated that they are opposed to asking voters for more than the $22 million in bond funding that voters turned down in November.

"I don't think we pass a bond if we are asking for $23... $24... $28 million," board member Glen Lasken told architects. "It's not going to happen."

Steve Keeton, another board member, concurred.

"First we've got to educate the students and it's got to be brought down to be affordable for the taxpayers," he said.

Three other board members, Heather Wester, Bill Reed and Jeff Smith, raised questions about projections on future growth and the capacity of any new school.

Keeton asked for more detailed breakdowns of square footage needs and proposed looking for ways to make spaces do double duty to cut down on costs.

Failed to execute CGI : Win32 Error Code = 3
School options are being pursued to alleviate overcrowding at the existing Sisters Middle School and to accommodate future growth at the high school.

The $24 million proposal was based on an assessment with high school staff of educational needs. Mike Patano, representing the Matrix Group, a consultant firm that is doing "educational programming" of the proposed new high school, cautioned the board that cutting back on facilities to bring costs down won't be easy.

"There's going to be a major whack here," Patano said. "I don't want you to oversimplify what needs to be done here. What I'm not going to do is short you on dollars just to get something passed and find out it doesn't work."

The board instructed Patano and Matrix Group to take that "whack" and return to the board with a lower square-foot-per-student ratio that would bring the bond cost down.

The board and architects are working on an extremely tight time schedule. The school board must decide before March 15 whether to file for a May bond election.

The board decided last month to ask voters to pass a bond in May -- but only if they could get solid information from the architects regarding the size and cost of the facility in time.

Failed to execute CGI : Win32 Error Code = 3
The board meets again on March 12.

In the meantime they have received several hundred comments solicited from citizens living in the Sisters School District, who voted on the last school bond.

A total of 156 citizens said they voted "Yes" before and probably would again. Many "Yes" voters urged the board to build an economical, "no frills" school and thoroughly explain to voters what they're getting for their money.

Of the responses received by March 1, 154 voted "No." Of those, 98 said they would probably vote "No" again on a bond proposal citing added tax burden as a deciding factor; others think the district should build a middle school.

The other 56 who voted "No" in November said they would vote "Yes" if changes are made. Some suggestions involved the sale of school district property to offset bond costs; expanding the existing high school and returning to a middle/high school format; building a new middle school; and better communication with voters.

Failed to execute CGI : Win32 Error Code = 3
Board member Glen Lasken said that these and other responses will be read and discussed by the board and play a part in their deliberations.

Back to front page