Long-range plan for schools on agenda Nov. 23, 2009 Long-range planning will be the focus when the Antigo school board convenes Tuesday for its regular November session.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the high school library.
In early October, the board laid the groundwork for future facility discussions and a possible referendum vote, going on record as supporting the current elementary, middle school and high school grade configuration. Members also directed administration to gather detailed enrollment and cost information on several elementary alternatives.
Now, seven weeks later, that information is beginning to filter in.
At a meeting of the Operations Committee last week, District Administrator Roxann Bornemann presented a draft of possible consolidation plans, with Director of Business Services Mary Jo Filbrandt explaining possible operational savings.
Those preliminary numbers place the cost of a new elementary school at between $13.2 million and $24.3 million, depending on the number of schools included in consolidation.
Operational savings could reach half-a-million-dollars annually or better.
Those numbers will certainly be discussed and refined before the board makes any further decisions.
In another building matter, the board will receive another update on a proposed biomass project that could potentially heat the high school and adjoining aquatic center using waste wood known as biomass.
The district is applying for a series of grants to fund the project, which could serve as a template for similar plans across the state, and is also approved for Qualified Zone Academy Bonds which carry a zero percent interest rate.
But questions remain about whether energy savings would match the construction costs.
The district has contracted with DLR Architects to complete a feasibility study for various heating and cooling options, but a report is not expected to be ready for board discussion until January.
In other business Tuesday, the board will:
—approve an Education for Employment plan to develop partnerships between businesses, schools, parents, students and the community to ensure opportunities to prepare young people for life, work and careers.
—revise its policy on early graduation guidelines changing the date for juniors to complete requirements and documentations from Nov. 1 to Dec. 1.
—establish guidelines for awarding special circumstances diplomas, a rare occasion generally requested by the family of a person who left school due to military service.
—establish the 2010-11 budget calendar and process.
—and purchase snowshoes through a federal physical education grant.
Following a closed session, the board may be ready to ratify 2009-10 contract agreements with its two support staff unions.
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