Royal School Board to vote on construction bond proposal
Cheryl Schweizer <Staff Writer> | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 years AGO
ROYAL CITY — Royal School District patrons may be asked to accept or reject a $16.58 million construction bond proposal in a special election Feb. 12. The bond resolution will be considered by the Royal School Board at its meeting Monday.
If approved, property owners would pay an estimated $1.25 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The bond would have an 18-year payback provision. The owner of property worth $200,000 would pay about $20.84 per year. The owner of property worth $300,000 would pay about $31.26 per year. If the bond is approved, the district is eligible for about $8.15 million in state-supplied construction funds.
Because it’s a revenue measure but not a maintenance and operations levy, the bond would require at least 60 percent approval to pass. District superintendent Roger Trail said the main motivation was improving safety and security, especially at Royal High School and Royal Middle School. “We’ve got some buildings that need attention, and safety is (the) No. 1 (concern),” Trail said.
The money would be used for improvements at the high school and middle school, as well as improvements at the district’s bus garage. The focus of the project would be Royal Middle School, which would get “total reconstruction and modernization” similar to the project at Red Rock Elementary School, according to information on the district’s website. The project includes additional classrooms at the middle school and enhanced safety measures, with the main office being reconfigured and an entry that would require visitors to be buzzed in for admission.
More classrooms would be added at Royal High School, and the main building would be connected with the library, gym and cafeteria. The cafeteria would be expanded. The RHS gym would get a complete renovation, with a new floor and bleachers, expanded and upgraded locker rooms and an updated heating-cooling system. The entry would be reconfigured to increase security, and both the middle and high schools would get interior and exterior security cameras. Both buildings also would get new doors with card-operated locks.
The bus garage would be expanded from one bay to two, its office area would be remodeled and storage would be added.
The district has an existing bond, approved in 2013, which paid for the construction of Royal Intermediate School and expansion at RHS. The assessment for that project is 94 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. If the bond proposal is approved, the combined bond tax rate would be $2.19 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
Red Rock Elementary was badly damaged when a pipe broke and flooded the entire building. The district was eligible for money to rebuild Red Rock, and that, with the insurance payment, allowed the district to renovate the elementary school without asking district patrons for a construction bond, Trail said.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
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.