Facility analysis to be submitted to Othello School Board
Cheryl Schweizer <Staff Writer> | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 5 months AGO
OTHELLO — Othello School Board members will review recommendations for changes to district facilities, and eventually district patrons will get a look at those recommendations also.
The facility analysis is part of the district’s conversion to a kindergarten through eighth grade model for elementary schools. Currently all elementary schools are kindergarten through fifth grade.
District superintendent Chris Hurst said the facility analysis was supposed to be presented at Monday’s meeting, but that the company conducting the analysis didn’t deliver its report until Monday. Their conclusions will be reviewed by the district’s architects to determine how much the changes will cost. Hurst said that report will be ready for the Aug. 13 board meeting.
The facility report will be made available to board members this week, Hurst said, and after that to district patrons. In answer to a question from board member Jenn Stevenson, Hurst said the report probably will be posted on the district’s website, and patrons will be notified when it’s available.
A special board meeting to review the facility analysis could be called before Aug. 13, Hurst said, if that was board members’ preference. Board member Ken Johnson suggested waiting until the board saw the information to determine if a special meeting was required.
The budget was scheduled for review Monday and adoption at the Aug. 13 meeting; Johnson asked why it was not on the agenda. Hurst said he talked with Rebecca Montgomery, the consultant working with the district to prepare the budget. “There didn’t appear to be questions from the board, so she did not feel the need to be present this evening. But it is on the board agenda for the next meeting and the next meeting after that.”
Johnson said the preliminary budget was supposed to be available to district patrons by July 10. At the July 9 meeting Montgomery said the preliminary budget would be posted on the district’s website within the next few days, but Johnson said it wasn’t available yet. Hurst said it has been submitted to ESD 123, and that district officials can post the preliminary budget. A copy of Montgomery’s presentation, which includes enrollment, revenue and expense projections, is available on the website in the July 9 board agenda packet.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER <STAFF WRITER>
Othello School Board approves property purchase
OTHELLO — The Othello School Board has approved an agreement to purchase 81.14 acres of land along 14th Street and Lee Road. The district will pay $2.4 million to the current owner, Terra Gold Farms. The draft agreement was approved during the regular board meeting Monday. The land is located at Lee Road between Seventh and 14th streets. Assistant superintendent Gina Bullis said there are no plans to build on the property now, but district officials plan to keep it as a site for any additional schools. The sale should be completed by the end of January. In other business, a discussion of a site visit to Wahitis Elementary prompted questions about traffic on 14th Street. Construction closed part of 14th Street during the spring, summer and fall, including the stretch in front of Wahitis Elementary. Prior to construction the road had a four-way stop outside Scootney Springs Elementary, but the stop signs were removed during construction and haven’t been replaced. Board member Juan Garza said he had received inquiries about the stop signs, and whether they would be reinstalled. “It sounds to me like they (the stop sign removals) are permanent, right? It’s going to stay that way.” Bullis said she had received inquiries too, and had asked city officials about them, including a question at the Othello City Council meeting earlier Monday evening. City manager Wade Faris told her, Bullis said, the city wasn’t required to reinstall them. The original purpose was to eliminate some of the congestion on 14th, Cemetery and Ash streets when kids and parents were coming and going from Scootney Springs. City officials think the extra lanes will accommodate any congestion, she said. Board member Mike Garza said the stop signs were installed as the result of a traffic study conducted by the district at the city’s request. He asked if the city had done an additional traffic study prior to removal. Bullis said city officials didn’t give a reason for the change. Mike Garza also asked if city officials planned to paint crosswalks across 14th Street at Wahitis Elementary. “I noticed there are no crosswalk designations across 14th” at the school, he said. Bullis said she would ask city officials.
Othello School District land purchase moves ahead
OTHELLO — The Othello School Board is scheduled to review a draft purchase and sale agreement for 78 acres of property along Lee Road at its Oct. 10 meeting.
Othello School Board discusses 14th Street with city officials
OTHELLO — Traffic, traffic flow and pedestrian safety, especially for elementary students, were the subjects of a lengthy discussion at the Othello School Board meeting Monday.