School studies options

Fair-Mont-Egan School took another step Tuesday toward developing plans for expansion.

Paul Bishop of Building Solutions Inc., who has been working as the district’s facilities consultant since spring 2008, presented building plans at a special school board meeting.

Plans are still far from final, but the board could be ready to bring a resolution for a bond election before the community within a couple of months. Board chairman Jeff Wilson said he hoped to have a resolution by February.

How much the bond request will be depends in part on what the district wants to build.

Meeting all the district’s needs likely won’t happen, but board members hope to take care of several needs, including creating new classroom space and connecting the current school buildings, by passing a bond issue.

By the end of the meeting, the board agreed that building plans could go one of two ways. They could build a new gym and a handful of additional classrooms, which would allow the school to shuffle existing space and turn the current gym into a multipurpose room.

“It’s like the Rubik’s Cube. It’s one click that makes so many other things happen,” Bishop said.

Another option is building at least six new classrooms and forcing students to continue to make do with its current gym space, which is about half regulation size.

Either option would create necessary space for classes and storage.

Because the plans are not yet definite, prices are far from final. One plan, which calls for building six new classrooms but no gym, would cost about $1.74 million.

The most expensive option Bishop presented featured 17,170 square feet of new construction, including a 9,350-square-foot gym with locker rooms, two new classrooms and new administrative offices. Bishop estimated that option would cost a little more than $2 million.

Modifying that plan only slightly, by not building locker rooms and not installing bleachers in the gym, would bring the cost down to $1.8 million, according to Bishop’s estimate.

Both options that include a gym are higher than the district’s $1.77 million target price. That’s what the bonding capacity would be if only in-district students were factored into the equation. Thirty-eight percent of Fair-Mont-Egan’s students live in another school district.

Fair-Mont-Egan’s total bonding capacity is $2.6 million.

The board is aiming for the $1.77 million target because only in-district taxpayers will shoulder the burden of repaying the bonds, although the district may devise a way for out-of-district families to contribute to Fair-Mont-Egan’s financial well-being.

Out-of-district students already add to the district’s general fund budget, which is based largely on enrollment. Schools receive per-student funding from the state no matter what district their students live in.

Fair-Mont-Egan receives about $4,800 from the state for every elementary student and about $6,200 for every middle school student enrolled.

The school district doesn’t charge its out-of-district students tuition, but the board may consider changing that policy. Mark Siderius, who lives in the district, said how the board approached the tuition issue might influence his vote in a bond election. Out-of-district families whose children will benefit from an improved facility should help shoulder the payments, he said Tuesday.

“They shouldn’t expect to get 100 percent free education and brand new facilities for nothing,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect it for my kids.”

Legally, Fair-Mont-Egan could charge tuition of up to $970 per student. Tuition costs are set by the trustees.

There has been some fear that charging tuition would deter some families from sending their kids to the school, which would eliminate much-needed general funds. Principal Christine Schmidt-Anthony said she has asked families in the past if they would pay tuition. Some indicated they would pull their children out of Fair-Mont-Egan if tuition were required.

But attitudes might have changed in the 3 1/2 years since Schmidt-Anthony last asked that question. And at least asking out-of-district families their opinions could go a long way toward fostering goodwill among voters, Siderius said — especially if tuition, which goes into the general fund, could somehow be put toward paying back the bonds.

Bishop, Wilson and trustee Steven Knoll hope to get a more definite idea of what the building plans — with a new gym and without it — might cost. They will meet with contractors to talk about construction price trends at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

The board will bring the plans before school staff on Jan. 8.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com