KPS SCHOOL BOARD TO PUT NEW KHS TO VOTE BY THE PUBLIC The Board of Education voted 6-0 in favor of letting the Kearney community vote on a bond to build a new Kearney High School. The board has listened to advice developed by a Community Advisory Committee made up of 30 community members representing all aspects of Kearney. The community met from January to April to discuss options for Kearney High School, as well as Sunrise and Horizon Middle Schools. The committee then presented those findings in a number of community meetings. Members of the School Board attended every meeting to listen the committee and community. Many issues were identified in the community meetings that need to be addressed at the schools including inadequate instructional, hallway and cafeteria space, antiquated infrastructure, as well as safety and security issues. The committee recommended an extensive remodel and reconstruction of KHS or building a brand new KHS. The School Board made the final decision to put the new school to a vote. A new high school would have the same amenities as the current high school: a practice field, an auditorium, etc. It would have two student loading zones and space for future baseball and softball fields. If a bond is approved this fall, a new school could open by 2016. If the district builds a new high school, the district would spend the next few years trying to sell or repurpose the current high school. The district will investigate using the building for things such as a bus barn or administrative offices. If no solution is found, the current KHS would be taken down and the land would be sold. In a rare occurrence, the new high school could be built levy neutral if voted for by the community. Bonds from the Sunrise bond and the 2007 levy both end in 2014. These tax dollars could be used to build the new high school. Building a new high school and renovating the existing middle schools will require a $68 million, 22-year bond. “For me, levy neutral is key,” board member Jon Watts said. “Building a new high school levy neutral is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” The district will use $10 million from the building fund and funds from the sale of land the district owns to reduce the cost of the new school. The district will also ask voters to decide whether the high school should build a swimming pool. A pool would cost $7.4 million and add an additional year to the bond. The decision on the pool will be a separate ballot question from the school bond. Thank you to everyone who participated in our Community Conversations. If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected]. As part of our Community Conversations, we would like to share the following videos produced by the KHS Media Productions Class: KHS TOUR MOVIE https://docs.google/file/d/0B2U-CUg5efOGdnJWRUxBU0Z6Z28/edit KHS OVERCROWDING MOVIE https://docs.google/file/d/0B2U-CUg5efOGR2VjeXgzQlBTblE/edit
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 12:54:33 +0000
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