April 17, 2025 Bond Update

The District aims to maintain technology resources in good condition through regular replacement, reducing repair costs, and ensuring effective use by staff and students.

Thanks to the 2024 Bond, funds are available to continue this technology refresh. During the Pandemic, a large purchase of Chromebooks was made for the launch of the One-to-One program. Due to limited availability at the time, the District acquired a model already partway through its production cycle, resulting in a shorter lifespan.

Chromebooks have proven to be effective, affordable, and easy to maintain, especially for student learning and testing at the High School and Middle School levels. As the current devices approach end-of-life, the District recommends replacing them.

Through the State-Wide SPOT program, a proposal has been made to purchase 2,666 Chromebooks and management licenses at a total cost of $664,082.08.

We are so grateful to the community for its support of this bond initiative, enabling the District to put the very best technology in the hands of our learners! 💕🖥️🖲️⌨️

After a competitive bidding process involving three vendors at a pre-bid walk-through, two bids were received. This project will invest about $49,993 into the middle school gymnasium AV equipment.

Installation will take place over the summer, with the systems ready for use in the 2025–2026 school year.

We are planning to move forward this summer with updating the HVAC controls at the middle school, which are currently outdated and no longer functioning efficiently. These controls manage the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems throughout the building and play a critical role in maintaining a comfortable and healthy learning environment for both students and staff.

The current control system is antiquated and has become increasingly ineffective at regulating temperatures and ensuring consistent airflow. In many cases, these older systems lack the ability to be remotely monitored or adjusted, which limits our ability to respond quickly to issues and optimize energy use. As a result, the building experiences inconsistent heating and cooling, energy inefficiency, and a greater risk of mechanical strain on the HVAC units themselves.

Upgrading to a modern, automated control system will allow for better zone control, real-time monitoring, and improved energy management. It will also extend the life of our HVAC equipment by ensuring systems are running as intended and not being overworked due to poor control responsiveness. This upgrade will represent a significant improvement in both operational efficiency and comfort for our middle school community!

This summer, the district aims to complete a comprehensive carpet replacement project focused primarily on the Middle and High Schools. The project will target approximately 35 classrooms in the High School—around 14 on the first floor and 20 on the second—along with several additional spaces, including athletics offices, small storage rooms, and the tech area.

While the current plan is to complete the work before the start of the new school year, it’s worth noting that lead times on carpet materials may present some logistical challenges. Nonetheless, the summer completion timeline remains the official goal for the project.

Artist rendering, right

Partial, tentative replace maps below.

Planning for the replacement of student and teacher furniture in both the middle and high schools is well underway, funded by the school construction bond. To ensure the best selection, teams have visited multiple industry-leading furniture suppliers, touring showcase rooms to evaluate modern, functional options that will enhance the learning environment. Several debrief meetings have taken place to discuss findings and narrow down potential suppliers. The next step in the process will involve selected suppliers presenting their equipment for building staff and staff to pilot this fall and provide feedback on. Much of the existing furniture is over 25 years old, and the new selections will usher in updated, modern environments for both students and staff, fostering a more comfortable and engaging learning experience.

Week 4 saw continued momentum on-site with several key activities progressing steadily. Soil testing and approvals remained ongoing to ensure the suitability of skate park dirt for field fill, which also continued throughout the week. Tree removal efforts were actively underway along the southern border of the site. In addition, demolition work began at the Bus Garage to prepare the area for future detention pond construction. The project remains on schedule as site preparation activities continue to advance.

During Week 5, significant progress was made across multiple areas of the project. Field fill operations advanced to 80% completion, contributing to the site’s overall stabilization. The removal of soils from the former skate park also reached 80% completion, maintaining alignment with the project timeline. Excavation for the detention pond is underway, with 25% of the work completed. Additionally, all scheduled tree removal activities have been finalized, marking 100% completion in that area. Overall, the site is progressing well and remains on track with scheduled milestones.

It is important to note that the stadium will be renovated in multiple phases. Phase two, scheduled to begin in the Summer of 2026 and will include renovations to the current press box and the addition of a new sound system.

Phase three will include the construction of a new entryway and concession on the south end of the current stadium, as well as cosmetic improvement the current entry way on the North side of the stadium.

Exciting progress is underway as we move forward with the design of a new Transportation and Maintenance Building, set to begin construction this fall! Located just west of the current high school, this much-needed facility will replace outdated and undersized buildings that no longer meet modern safety standards.

Designed for efficiency, this 24,000-square-foot building will combine both departments, maximizing resources and making the best use of taxpayer dollars. It will include administrative offices, locker and shower facilities, and dedicated garage space for both transportation and maintenance teams. With four drive-through bays, our talented team of mechanics can now service buses more safely and efficiently, eliminating the need for backing in or out.

This new facility will also provide additional dry storage with a dock, streamlining district-wide deliveries and distribution. This investment ensures our district operates more effectively while supporting the vital work of our transportation and maintenance staff.

The work captured in this bond is broken down into bid packages. For example, the work described above is in Bid Package 1A - the very first bid package. Upcoming bid packages are outlined below with tentative timelines.

Please note: The bid packages listed below are currently in various stages of design. Additional bid packages, including those for field turf, the middle school cafeteria, technology, the natatorium, and others, have not yet entered the design phase but will be developed and updated in the future.

Bid Package 1A - Stadium Inner Scope

• Replace field with turf
• Replace track & field
• Replace inner perimeter fencing
• Fall 2024 - project design
• Winter 2024 - projects bidding
• Spring 2025 - project construction

Bid Package 1B - Campus Traffic Flow & Parking

• High School and Middle School parent carpool loop reworked
  
• Separation of buses from carpool/community traffic
• Expanded parking in front of middle and high school
• Stadium press box renovations
• Spring 2026 - projects bidding
• Summer of 2026 - project construction

Bid Package 1C - Baseball & Softball Field Upgrades

• Update irrigation system
• Updated perimeter fencing
• Spring 2025 - project bidding
• Summer 2025 - construction

Bid Package 1D - Middle/High School Fire Alarm System Replacement

• Winter 2025 - project bidding
• Summer 2025 - construction

Bid Package 2A - New Construction Transportation & Maintenance Facility

• Winter 2025 - Design Development
• Summer 2025 - project bidding
• Fall 2025 - Fall of 2026 - construction

Our focus revolves around five key objectives for the bond:

1. Preserve existing assets
2. Prioritize safety and security
3. Provide future-focused academic and extracurricular experiences for our students
4. Enhance infrastructure
5. Demonstrate fiscal responsibility

Safety & Security:

• Addressing traffic congestion, lack of parking spaces, and separation of traffic and busing through enhancements
• Replacement of outdated, unreliable security equipment at each building

Transportation:

• Continued replacement of an aging bus fleet

Academic Learning Spaces + Experience:

• Replacement of original, aged classroom equipment and furniture at middle and high schools
• Updates to original, outdated science areas at middle and high schools (excluding the newly renovated portions) to ensure students have state of the art experiences.

Fine Arts:

• Upgrades to lighting and media equipment at the high school auditorium

Infrastructure:

• Replacement of original, outdated lockers, bathrooms, various ceilings, and lighting at middle and high schools
• Renovations to high school weight room including expansion to address overcrowding and scheduling issues for student-athletes and physical education courses
• Upgrade of aged building controls at middle and high schools (water, fire, HVAC, etc.) to provide the most efficient and safe environmental controls
• Addition of cooling to main gymnasiums at the high school

Student Athletic Experience:

• Renovation of aged high school locker rooms
• Renovation of the high school stadium, including artificial turf, new entryways, expanded concessions
• New high school track - the current track is backwards and nearly unusable in the current condition
• Upgrades to baseball and softball fields
• Construction of a new multi-use turf field (soccer, lacrosse, football)
• Maintenance of existing practice fields; addition of a new outdoor practice space

Other Construction:

• Addressing overcrowding in the current Middle School cafeteria
• Replacement of aged, quickly deteriorating tennis courts
  
• Replacement of aged transportation building and maintenance building
• Construction of a fieldhouse facility for indoor practice teams/band to address lack of 12-month practice space; available for community use
• Construction of a student/community pool

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