News from
Sheridan School District No. 2
Contact: Mark
Stevens
[email protected]
303-495-8699
(mobile) • 720-328-5488 (office)
News
Release
Dec. 6, 2017
Board of Education Considers Plan to Build New High School and
Meet Facility-Related Health and Safety Needs
The Sheridan
Board of Education next week will consider a resolution that would set in
motion a plan to apply for state grant money to build a new high school and
address a host of other health and safety needs across the district.
During an
informal work session Tuesday (Dec. 5), the board expressed interest in the
outline of a staff proposal to request a grant through the state’s Building
Excellent Schools Today (BEST) program, the same program that led to the state
shouldering the vast majority of the construction cost of Fort Logan Northgate
School.
Cyndi Wright,
Director of Facilities and Transportation for Sheridan School District 2, told
the board that a new high school would cost an estimated $52 million. In
addition, said Wright, the district faces a hefty list of needed repairs to
address critical health and safety needs in other buildings (primarily at Alice
Terry Elementary School and the building that houses both SOAR Academy and the
Early Childhood Center).
As with the grant
that led to the construction of Fort Logan Northgate School, the state dollars
would only flow if there is local support in the form of a successful local
bond election.
Chief Operations
Officer Kristen Colonell told the board that the district’s current bonding
capacity is $27 million. Under state minimum match requirements, $16.1 million
of that would be required to be spent on the high school project. The remaining
$11 million, if approved, would begin to address additional district needs
including roof replacements, fire alarm improvements, site improvements
including storm drainage work, and critical work on heating and plumbing
systems.
The next round of
BEST funding begins immediately in early 2018, said Wright, and will require
considerable staff time in January and February. Wright sits on the state
board that oversees the BEST grant process. She would recuse herself from voting
on Sheridan’s proposal. Nonetheless, Wright told the board she believes
Sheridan has a “compelling story” to tell, given the legitimate health and
safety needs.
Board of
Education president Bernadette Saleh and board members Daniel Stange and Karla
Najera expressed support for moving ahead. No formal vote was taken. Board
member Sally Daigle was not present. Board member Najera expressed concern
about the increasing cost of housing in Sheridan and asked what the district
can do to help keep housing affordable for existing Sheridan families.
Wright,
Superintendent Michael Clough and Deputy Superintendent Jackie Webb all
concurred with the concern—and said the issue was a community-wide topic, not
something the school district could address by itself. “We can't do it by
ourselves and the city can't do it by itself,” said Wright. “It’s all
intertwined.”
Sheridan’s
increased assessed valuation means that the local share will require a higher
percentage of the total cost—31 percent—than the last time Sheridan went
through the BEST grant process, when the local share was 24 percent.
Representatives
from WOLD Architects, Aimee LaLone and Job Gutierrez, joined Wright and
Colonell in the presentation this morning. WOLD designed Fort Logan Northgate
School and helped shepherd the entire project from start to finish.
“I feel like we
have a good solid team to present a compelling story,” said Wright.
“Not to mention
experience,” said Saleh. “That counts for a lot.”
Superintendent
Search
Also at the work
session this morning, the board indicated it will hire a search firm to assist
with its search for a new superintendent. The board asked for additional
conversations with two potential vendors. One is Ray and Associates, based in
Iowa. The other is the Colorado Association of School Boards. Superintendent
Clough is leaving the district at the end of June, 2018.
About
Sheridan School District 2
Located southwest
of Denver, Sheridan School District 2 seeks high-level post-secondary options
for all students through continuous improvement of quality instruction. More: www.ssd2.org
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