Holmen Courier - Printable Version

Story originally printed in the Holmen Courier or online at www.holmencourier.com

Published - Tuesday, August 21, 2007

New K-5 school proposed: Board to consider referendum soon for $15 million facility

By DAN SIMMONS | Lee Newspapers

The Holmen School District’s Facility Committee recommended going forward with construction of a new elementary school that would cost the district just under $15 million and be modeled on the Sand Lake Elementary School layout. Now, the school board will decide within the next month whether to go forward with a referendum this fall to pay for it and other facilities projects.

Chuck Olson, school board member and chairman of the Facility Committee, briefed the board at its Monday meeting. He recommended building the new elementary school in a similar layout as Sand Lake.

“We’re not going to copy Sand Lake, but whereas parents, students and staff find it comfortable and a good educational environment, we want to build on that,” Olson said.

The school would be built on the 32 acres north of Highway NA along Highway HD that the district purchased last year for $777,120. It could open in either 2009 or 2010.

It also would be constructed with a view toward adding another middle school on the grounds in the future as needed to accommodate an expected increase in enrollment.

Other recommendations from the Facilities Committee include:

Replacing Evergreen Elementary’s heating and cooling system at a cost of $1.8 million. The existing system is 29 years old and near the end of its useful life, Olson said.

Completing a $300,000 improvement plan at Viking Elementary, including installing 10 windows on the second floor, remodeling four bathrooms and replacing some cabinetry.

Olson said the projects would require an additional $536,952 in operating costs — $521,952 at the new school and $15,000 at Evergreen.

The overall package would be paid off on a 15-year loan, Olson said, and require no refinancing of existing debt. The cost of the projects would translate to a increase in the tax rate of less than $1.87 per $1,000 in equalized property value, true to the board’s earlier promise of keeping it under $2.15 per $1,000, Olson said.

Olson’s report at Monday’s meeting came after about 15 committee meetings over the past year. He urged the board to consider a referendum at its Aug. 27 meeting.

Other business

4K: Teresa Nuttelman, who oversees the district’s new 4-year-old preschool program, reported that about 180 students are enrolled in the first year of 4-year-old preschool, and that all staff have been hired.

“Things are going very, very well,” she said.

District transportation director Roger Saxton said in a report that just one additional bus route and one extra driver were added to accommodate the 4-year-old program. In addition, another bus is being leased for the extra route.

STAFFING: Holmen Superintendent Fred Frick said that a busy summer of hiring is nearly complete. The district has filled 57 open jobs, he said, with seven openings remaining.