Published: July 10, 2008 10:43 am            

West Clark's early childhood center’s construction on hold

School board to review another potential site

SELLERSBURG — After lengthy discussion, the West Clark Community Schools Corp. board voted to put construction on the Early Childhood Development Center on hold as the group reviews another site.

Larry Timperman, with Michell Timperman Ritz Architects, presented the board with updated design development drawings at a Wednesday night meeting. He said that process is complete, and asked for permission to move on to the construction contract documents phase.

Board member Joe Basham — who took the oath of office earlier in the meeting — told the board that he’s concerned that the slated site is too small and won’t allow for enough future growth.

The existing design of the preschool through first grade facility does have a phase-two plan that can be implemented later. That plan includes adding another classroom wing, potentially making the school kindergarten through fifth grade.

Basham said that may not be enough. He referred to previous, yet recent construction projects the school system has completed and already outgrown.

He suggested instead of building on the corporation’s land off Old Ind. 60, the school system should trade the land with the developer of an area off Ind. 403, who is offering to sell land to the corporation and even donate a few acres. He said that way additional space for future growth could be purchased.

“If we’re going to do that, this is the time to re-evaluate,” Timperman told the board.

He said changing sites would mean redoing some of the things already completed, such as land surveys. He estimated the cost for doing all the studies would be around $30,000 to $35,000.

Board President Sandra Furnish Banet said the Ind. 403 location had been examined before. However, issues with the deed caused it to fall through. She said changing the site would cost additional money, not only for the studies, but for the additional land.

Superintendent Monty Schneider said he agreed the existing site feels tight. However, he said he feels that the corporation will not be able to be approved for another bond to pay for the additional land and surveying costs. He said that money likely will have to be taken from the project elsewhere.

“Yes, it’s an additional cost, but in the long term it saves us money,” Basham said, referring to not having to build a new school in the near future.

The board voted 5-0 to hold off on the project for a month to look into the cost for the Ind. 403 land.



Also at the meeting

• Furnish Banet and Basham took the oath of office. Furnish Banet won her bid for re-election in May. Basham is a newly elected member of the board.

• The board voted 4-1, with Basham voting against, to appoint Furnish Banet to continue her position as president of the board. The first vote was 2-1-2, with Basham voting against and Teresa Guthrie and Doug Coffman abstaining. Once the corporation’s attorney, Michael Gillenwater, said he wasn’t sure if that was enough to count legally, another vote was taken, which ended with the 4-1.

• With votes of 5-0 the following board positions were appointed: Guthrie as vice president, corporation liaison; Coffman as secretary, negotiations board representative; Furnish Banet as Indiana School Boards Association policy and resolutions committee and Brian Hurst for the legislative committee.

• Following Schneider’s recommendation, the board members voted to keep the same salary for themselves as last year, which is $2,000 per year.

• The group decided to keep meetings the same, which is 7:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month. One meeting in the fall and another in the spring will be at the schools instead of the administration building.

• Communities in Schools of Clark County’s Executive Director Cathy Graninger talked to the board about how much the group has done for the corporation.

Through grants, volunteers and other sources, she said the organization is able to provide schools with resources to help meet the needs of students, such as counseling, tutoring and vision screenings.

Graninger said the tutoring/homework programs have yielded results of more than 80 percent of students improving their report card grades.

Graninger estimated West Clark’s benefit at $97,989 for last year, which does not include all the programs the group offers.

• The board also approved the purchase of two properties: 105 School St., in Borden, for $75,000; and 352 U.S. 31, in Sellersburg, for $88,500.

        

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