Decision time approaches for Colton school proposal

Voters in the Colton/Uniontown school district have less than a month to decide on the district’s proposal for a multi-million dollar overhaul of the aging Colton school building. Approximately 30 people met in Uniontown Sunday to learn about the proposal.

Several citizens later said they were undecided on their vote, as they were torn between the high cost of the remodel versus the blatant need for it.

“It seems like an awful lot of money at this time. They made some good arguments,” said Ed Garretson, Uniontown homeowner, the day after the meeting.

A strained electrical system and outdated heating system are among reasons the school district is asking to remodel the 1939 building which was last modified in 1963.

Total cost of the project is $10.2 million. On the Nov. 2 ballot, voters in the school district will be asked to decide on a $5.1 million 20-year bond.

If the bond is approved, the state will provide $5.86 million as part of a modernization matching grant program through the state’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The remodel would enlarge classrooms, upgrade the electrical, plumbing and heating systems, enlarge the school gym, increase the capability for technology and build a main entry that is easily monitored.

The proposal would cost taxpayers roughly $3.23 per $1,000 of assessed property value. A house assessed at $100,000 would see a rise of $323 in taxes per year for the bond.

Citizens asked many questions during the meeting at the Uniontown Community Building.

“Is there any guarantee the state has money to pay us? I thought the state was broke,” asked one citizen.

Another person wanted to know if the proposal for relocating Rimrock Road away from the school was related to the school remodeling proposal.

No, said Superintendent Nate Smith. He pointed out the new proposed road is solely a Colton city project. The school did deed over a parcel of land, at no cost, to the city for the proposed road right-of-way.

For the past month, the school administration has conducted meetings with the Colton/Uniontown public, pitching the school’s remodel.

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

Within the Colton school district, which serves both Colton and Uniontown, there are 705 active voters and 41 inactive voters.

If Colton/Uniontown voters approve the bond, construction would begin in the spring of 2011.

In interviews with the Gazette Monday several of those who attended said they were still undecided on their vote.

“I was very inclined to just vote no. My first reaction was ‘$10 million!’,” said Garretson who owns a home in Uniontown. After attending the meeting and hearing first-hand the conditions of the school building, Garretson said he is now not sure how he’ll vote.

He pointed out there were some aspects of the remodeling plan which seemed necessary.

However, Garretson added taxpayers in Uniontown are already footing part of the cost for rebuilding the town’s three wastewater lagoons. Price tag on the lagoons is close $2.3 million with $2.08 million provided in a forgivable loan.

Another voter, Marilyn Burg, believes the school has some urgent needs that clearly must be fixed. All the same, this is still a very rough time for the average taxpayer in Colton and Uniontown.

“I just had another long phone call from a neighbor. We were discussing last night’s meeting,” Burg said. Burg is a retired farmer and owns land within the district.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we need to spend some money on my school. Whether or not we need to spend this much, I’m not sure,” said Burg. “We need to upgrade our heating system, we need to upgrade the electrical and the roof.”

The superintendent shared at the meeting the roof of the school has been sagging more than 15 inches during years of heavy snowfall.

Another voter, Mary Druffel, saw her five children graduate from the Colton school, having attended high school there. Druffel said most of the remodel looked necessary, but felt for the Colton/Uniontown taxpayers who would be hurting from a tax increase.

“I personally think I could support it and afford it. I have mixed feelings,” Druffel said, adding she wasn’t sure yet how she would vote.