News
Board approves option one for its master plan
Scott Wagar
01/28/2014
The Bottineau School Board conducted a special school board meeting on Jan. 23 to discuss a number of items concerning the Facilities Master Plan, which included choosing the best option plan for the students when it comes to a school building.
CORRECTION
At the start of the meeting, Jason Kersten, superintendent of the Bottineau School District, took a few moments to discuss that during the school board meeting on Jan. 15 it was stated that a second referendum vote needed to take place six months after the first vote failed.
However, Kersten stated that statement was incorrect, and that the second referendum vote needs to take place six months after the state sends its official letter stating the school has been approved for the $10 million construction loan at a 1.75 percent interest.
Although approved for the construction loan, the state’s official letter has not been sent to Bottineau’s school district. Due to this policy, the Bottineau School District does not have to have its second vote of the referendum during the first week in May, which grants the school board more time to work on the Facilitie’s Master Plan.
OPTION PLANS
With clearance on the date of when the vote can take place, the school board members turned their attention to which plan they should move forward with for the next bond issue.
The school board discussed two plans, which included option one of placing all the students under one roof on the property which now holds grades three through 12. (This plans calls for adding on additions for the grade school students and conducting renovation projects through the present day school to create space and rehabilitate the existing structures on the property.) The second option called for constructing a new elementary school on the east side of Bottineau.
Option one would cost around $18 million, while option two would cost an estimated $14 million.
Throughout the discussion, around 60 to 70 percent of the board stated they favored placing the students under one roof. Their decision came from the recent survey the district mailed out to voters to discover why the November referendum vote failed to pass.
In the survey, individuals had the opportunity to make suggestions in what they would like to see when it comes to a school building. The majority of them suggested they would like to see all the students under one roof.
THE VOTE
With that, a vote was taken to determine which option the board members felt would be best for the students of the district, and the school board members voted to place the students under one roof.
Kim Bernstein, Adam Frykman, Matt Johnson, Paul Olson and Kim Schoenborn voted in favor of the motion, while Gigi Artz voted against the motion.
Bernstein and Schoenborn stated that they favored option two over option one, but voted against it because they felt voters would not vote in favor of option two after voting it down once already.
Artz said that she felt the best option for students to receive the best education was option two and felt discussion of the plan should continue. Artz added she also had concerns with having all the students in the north location due to the close proximity of the elevators, fertilizer plant, railroad lines, propane company and busy streets in these areas to the school. Artz’s concern with the close proximity of these structures to the school where accidents taking place and bio-hazard spills happening so close to the school.
TIMELINE
With option one approved, the board began to discuss such timeline items like the bond issue, debt limit, public forums and informational meetings with teachers, architectural plans and deadlines to have the referendum vote.
It was decided that at the present moment there wasn’t enough information to continue the discussion and the meeting was closed.
The next school board meeting will take place on Monday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. in the high school’s conference room. The general public is welcome to attend.