Superior School is hoping voters will pass a levy on Sept. 28 to construct an addition to the current high school.

Along with housing junior high students, the new facilities will include a health enhancement room, a wood shop, machine shop and four classrooms. The 20-year bond is for $3,225,675 with the estimated number of annual mills at 58.20 according to D.A. Davidson. The levy will be a mail-in ballot sent out on Sept. 13, with the final vote on the Sept. 28, 2017.

The cost per household based on a $112,400 home is $88.35 annually or $7.36 per month. The last time Superior School had a levy, the bond was satified early in 2013.

The current junior high school is a blue building located across the parking lot from the main Superior High School. It sits across from the county fair grounds and is an old grocery store built in 1954. There are currently 114 student’s grades 7 through 12 who utilize it.

The new facility would add be added onto the current high school building. The “L” shape design adds four classrooms to the existing 40 foot strong walls along the perimeter of the gym. The other leg would house the health room, wood and machine shops.

The school district bought the building in 1972 for $42,000. However, it was never designed to be a school. The hallways are only about six feet wide which causes crowding. The building is also plagued with a variety of electrical, plumbing, and heating problems.

Alan Labbe, the former high school principal, who sits on the building committee said the current facility gets inspected on a regular basis and is safe for the students. But it’s getting more difficult every year to keep up with repairs and to keep the building safe.

The roof leaks, there’s flooding especially in the spring when the snow melts, the septic system backs up and there are concerns over radon and black mold in the basement of the old building.

“We’ve dealt with issues and maintained the building, but it’s getting to the point where we need a new heating system,” said head of school maintenance, Hugh Hopwood. “The systems dates back to 1954 and they are beyond repair. We can’t even get parts anymore.”

A collection of individuals from the community make up the new building advisory committee and they have unanimously agree that the school needs the new building.

“The first thing we did was look at the numbers for the building that we are in and see if it was possible to renovate it,” Labbe said. But costs estimates came in at $1.5 million and the experts told the group that if the renovations tallied up to more than half the value of the building than it’s not wise to renovate.

In addition to heating, plumbing and a new roof, the old building also has structural problems where part of the floor is sinking. There are also ventilation issues, which are a health concern because the Junior High School houses the wood and machine shops. Fumes and dust from the classes are not properly ventilated.

However the renovation costs are not the only issue, there are also safety issues surrounding the location of the current building. It’s isolated from the main high school. It’s located across the parking lot and there isn’t a lot of supervision or security found in the main school.

“A stranger can walk into the building and all we have are teachers and students over there,” said Labbe, “it’s a horrible security problem.”

There have been incidents of strangers walking into the building. One time a person high on meth pulled off Interstate 90 and approached students and teachers, Labbe said. Kids also have to cross that parking lot several times a day to get between classes.

“This doesn’t just affect junior high student,” said Scott Kinney, the school superintendent, “high school students use those classrooms, English, special education and other classes are taught over there.”

Safety concerns also spill over into kids crossing the parking lot, where there have been incidents of cars hitting students. Luckily, no serious injuries have occurred. Plus, in the winter they have to go between classes and oftentimes don’t wear jackets, which is another health issue.

This is the third time the school has asked the public to support a levy for the new construction. The committee has taken previous public comments into consideration and incorporated those into this project. For example, they eliminated a previous ask for a $1.3 million biomass burner.

“We listened to public concerns from the last election and parred the project back. This proposal is something we really need. We are not asking for a “want” list, this is something we “need”. This is what’s best for our kids, it’s just safe classrooms.”

The group also commented about the new health enhancement room, which will be used for PE and includes a weight room and space for other adult education classes like yoga. Also, improved wood and machine shops with benefit the school’s industrial arts program. Industrial arts teacher, Jeff Shultz has been certified to teacher welding. This gives students the opportunity to learn a trade. The program will also be available for community members if they want to get certified.

“Schools are the backbone to any community,” said Kinney, “and we want Superior to remain strong as Mineral County grows.”

The building committee will be holding several public informational meetings before the elections are held in September.