News
Board moving ahead with capital project plans
Vote would be held this winter
Aug. 20, 2008
The Mohonasen Board of Education agreed on Monday, Aug. 18 to move forward on plans for a capital project that would, with voter approval, bring full-day kindergarten and Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) to the district, as well as a “high-tech” wing at Mohonasen High School and several other programmatic upgrades district wide.
While the details of the plan are still being finalized, the board and district administrators expect to put the project up for a public vote this winter.
“As we look at today’s changing world and more rigorous state and federal standards, we need to update our programs to offer our students all of the skills they are going to need to be successful in school and the workplace,” Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Spring said. “The 21st Century demands 21st Century programs, and that’s exactly what we are looking to create for our students.”
This capital project would represent the next phase of the district’s long-range plan. The first phase began when Mohonasen residents overwhelmingly approved a $21.9 million building project last October. That project, Spring said, is allowing the district to make “nuts and bolts” facilities improvements at all four schools. This next project would allow for additional infrastructure upgrades and also address programmatic needs.
“Research shows that strong early-childhood
education programs give all children a better start in school,”
Spring said. State officials are encouraging districts to offer both
full-day kindergarten and UPK, she noted, and they are providing
additional funding to school districts to make them possible.
To create appropriate space for these planned early childhood
programs, district officials are now exploring options for the
district’s current elementary schools – Bradt Primary School, which
serves grades K-2, and Pinewood Intermediate School, which serves
grades 3-5. One potential option is opening a third elementary
school.
Also under consideration are:
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A new “high-tech” wing at Mohonasen High School that would help students prepare for careers in high-tech industries – many of which are already in the Capital Region – such as nanotechnology and biotechnology;
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Restructuring Draper Middle School to offer a “house system”– with each grade essentially a school within a school – that offers more individual attention;
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A new library at Draper Middle School;
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A new, safer transportation facility to replace the existing facility; and
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Updates to the district’s athletic fields.
District officials are still putting the
finishing touches on the scope and cost of the project proposal and
will be holding focus groups this fall to gather community input.
Cost projections are not yet available; however officials hope to
put forth a proposal that will have little or no cost to local
taxpayers.
“If we act now, we will be able to add these programs, which are
crucial to providing a world-class education here at Mohonasen,
while we are still eligible for 95 percent state building aid,”
Spring said.
The district currently receives 95 percent building “incentive aid” from the state, thanks to the 1986 annexation of the former Draper School District. This aid is reviewed annually, and lawmakers say it is possible that the district’s aid could be significantly reduced in the coming year.
