Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Colfax remodeling
The Colfax School Board listened to options regarding a possible remodeling of Jennings Elementary School at its meeting Monday night.
Superintendent Michael Morgan took board members through various scenarios in a work session before the regular meeting.
The district at present does not have a plan for work at Jennings, but the presentation on financing a future project was presented to stress the lead time required in the funding process.
One concern for the Jennings building is the condition of the roof.
Pointing to a chart on a dry-erase board, Morgan said that if the district decided to start work in two years, a bond proposal should go before the voters next spring.
That timing would coincide with the district’s bi-annual maintenance and operation levy scheduled to go before voters. Morgan noted, however, that when two matters such as these are put in front of the voters at once, it usually doesn’t affect the outcome.
The district’s current bonds for the 2003 remodeling of the high school continue on the rolls until 2019.
Morgan gave a review of the process in which Washington state considers and awards matching funds for projects of this kind.
“There’s always strings attached when you get money,” he said.
When a bond is passed and is subsequently sold, a time frame begins for construction.
“Within three years you need to start the project,” Morgan said, indicating that the state now has $7 million available in matching funds to be applied for by Dec. 1. The program is run on an annual basis, with the first of December the deadline each year.
Also speaking to the school board Monday night, Colfax District Business Manager Reece Jenkin reviewed the differences between bonds and levies, saying that bonds are used for big projects because a district gets the money up front.
“You sell that bond and we get $7 million right now,” Jenkin said, using a hypothetical number for project cost.
Bonds are paid off in two annual installments: an interest payment in June and an interest and principal payment in December.
Morgan noted that in a community with a much larger tax base, such as school districts in Seattle, a remodeling project could be funded by a capital levy. In Colfax however, it would be asking too much.
If a bond proposal is put before the voters and passes, the actual bonds would not need to be sold until the district is ready to start the project, after which the three-year period begins.
Morgan noted that if the board goes forward with a plan for remodeling Jennings, the first steps would be to hire an architect for the initial design.
Built in 1953, Jennings Elementary was remodeled in 1993 when changes were made to exterior walls, classroom space was added and heating/ventilation systems were enhanced along with the addition of a new roof.
Last year, the school office was remodeled and electronic locks were added, along with other small changes, after voters in the district passed a $250,000 security and capital improvements levy.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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