News Article
O'Neill School Board to Consider Jr-Sr High Building Project at November Board Meeting
The O’Neill Public School Board of Education will review, discuss and determine final plans for a building project at the Jr. Sr. High School at their November board meeting. The project will improve student safety by replacing the modular classrooms that have been on campus for nearly 30 years, and enclosing the walkway to the career and technical education shops and classrooms. Also included in the proposed plan is a more secure administrative space/entrance, moving the district offices and Center for Teaching and Learning on-site, a performance gym with ADA locker rooms, and a performing arts auditorium.
The district is using Davis Design and Hausmann Construction to work on a design that is both functional and forward thinking. The board is taking into consideration all of the needs of the district, both current and future. One of the things being taken into consideration and planned for is the growth in our elementary class sizes. The district currently offers four sections of both kindergarten and first grade due to high student numbers. The district also has a waiting list for its four-year old pre-school. An option that is being planned for in the high school project is creating a middle school section attached to the existing building that would accommodate students in grades 6-8. The plans would ensure separate entrances, rest rooms, and passing times for these younger students. This would create needed space at the elementary school. The concept of a 6-8 grade middle school will be explored in depth during the 2018-19 school year.
Moving the district office and the Center for Teaching and Learning to the high school would save money and improve efficiency. The Center for Teaching and Learning, a program that serves the district’s students with significant cognitive limitations, is currently housed in the 1938 building. The district would sell the current district office building and the 1938 building, eliminating the costs of running those sites, which are in excess of $20,000 per year.
Work on the high school actually began during the summer of 2016, when the original boiler system was replaced with an updated, more efficient system. Other energy saving steps; such as, upgrading to LED lighting was also completed. The building was sprinkled to meet fire-code requirements at this time as well. All of these things will make the actual construction of the building less costly.
The board will be using a lease purchase agreement to finance the proposed project, which is estimated to cost between 18 and 20 million dollars. Revenue from the wind farm located within the district’s boundaries will ease the tax increase needed to complete the project. State statute 79-10, 105 allows school districts to enter into lease purchase agreements for facilities for a maximum of seven years. The district can make lease payments from both the general fund and building fund, which gives them greater flexibility than a bond. The project has been broken into separate projects, all of which will be considered during a board work session at 5:30 on Monday, November 13th and then voted on that night at the regular board meeting, which begins at 7:30. The public is welcome and encouraged to visit with board members between now and the 13th or at the work session. The actual plans can be viewed at Central Office or the Jr. Sr. High School building.