Colton to decide on $10 million school remodel

A multi-million dollar overhaul of the Colton school building is on the Nov. 2 ballot for the 695 active voters in the Colton school district.

Total estimated cost of the project is $10.2 million, with half coming from district taxpayers and half coming from the state in a matched grant.

A strained electrical system and old heating system are among reasons the school board and administration are asking to remodel the 1939 building. It was last modified in 1963.

For the past month, the school administration has conducted meetings with the Colton/Uniontown public, pitching the $5.1 million bond proposal to voters. A 60 percent approval rate is required for the bond to pass.

The district will partially fund the $10.2 million project with a matching $5.86 million modernization grant through the state’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Colton district taxpayers will be asked to approve a $5.1 million, 20-year bond.

“It’s hard for us to add any needed technology within our classrooms. Our heating and ventilation systems are aged and not very efficient,” said Colton Superintendent Nate Smith.

The school has 171 students enrolled, kindergarten through 12th grade.

The next public meeting on the project will be Oct. 3 at 7 p.m., in the Uniontown Community building. If Colton/Uniontown taxpayers approve the bond, construction will start in the spring of 2011 and, if all goes as planned, finish the summer of 2013.

Smith said the district’s Capital Improvement Committee has been working on this remodel proposal for the past two years.

A member of that committee, Bob Bauer of Uniontown, said he knows the project will mean a major cost to voters, but there will not be a better time than now to attract low bids offered by contractors seeking construction work.

“If you wait longer to do it, I think it will be more expensive,” Bauer said.

Debbie Niehenke has three children enrolled in the school and regularly volunteers in the classroom. Niehenke said most of her fellow taxpayers were initially shocked at the $10 million price tag but warmed up once they saw how the project funds would be used.

Almost $4 million of the funds would go to new infrastructure like heating, electrical, ventilation and telecommunications systems.

“It’s a lot of money - it’s a long time for our personal expenses to go up,” Niehenke said.

However, she can tell stories about the shortcomings of the present building. Some classrooms only have two electrical outlets.

“You can’t even plug in a glue gun for crying out loud when you want to do a craft,” Niehenke said of trying to work on crafts in a typical school classroom.

She is on board with the improvements to the heating and electrical systems.

The basketball court in the gym runs too close to the entry doors, making it a hazard to enter while a game is in session, Niehenke said. Part of the remodel calls for knocking out the storage in the ag shop and extending the school gym into that space.

“To improve a few extra feet on the gym makes it so you can walk into the gym and you aren’t colliding with players,” she said.

The modernization grant from OSPI comes with several guidelines. The public must first vote in favor of their side of the funding, in this case, $5.2 million in a 20-year bond.

“One of the first requirements is you have to pass the bond. It’s match funding,” Smith said.

Construction must remain within the footprint of the existing building- no additions that add extra footage. Other stipulations from the state also come with their modernization funding.

Smith approximated the levy would cost Colton taxpayers $3.23 per $1,000 of assessed value on their property.

If approved, the district would use the bond authorization to finance payment of construction costs.

The bond issues would be paid off year-to-year from a redemption fund developed with proceeds from the annual levy paid by Colton/Uniontown taxpayers.