MESICK — Mesick Consolidated schools, considering options for the future of the elementary schools that would likely include a bond.
But after a string of failed proposals in the past several years, they are looking for more input from the community first.
Superintendent Jack Ledford said the elementary building is aging and in need of repairs and renovations.
“We’re just in the initial planning stages. Nothing’s going to happen immediately. We just want to put it out there, there is a need that we have,” said Ledford.
Ledford said the elementary school building has a lot of things that need to be fixed, replaced, or renovated, including roofing, heating and cooling systems, bigger classrooms, and more.
“We’ve taken steps to keep it as safe as possible, but it’s still busy and it’s still eroding in the more years that are on that building, the worse it gets,” said Ledford.
He said the location of the elementary is also a safety concern because it’s right next to the main artery into town, M-115.
“We’ve had all kinds of traffic issues and safety concerns for students. Nothing serious, but we want to avoid that before we get to that point. It’s just busy and distracted drivers with phones and other things. It’s a busy place for our young students,” said Ledford.
Ledford said they have been putting on band-aids when repairs are needed, but the district isn’t so sure putting more investment into the current building is the best option.
“We continue to upgrade but we do it thinking that we really need to be careful of how much money we pour into that building because of the age in the location,” said Ledford.
The district sent out a communication to the community asking them to give their input. The district has tried passing bonds 3 times in recent years, but they all failed. The district is trying a new approach.
“The process is similar. But I think our message will be different this time. I think we’ll be more inclusive in hearing what the community feels like we need rather than these are our wants. So, we want what’s best for our kids,” said Ledford.
The meeting will be held at the high school library September 30th at 6 pm.
He said they’ve also hired Sitelogiq, a firm that specializes in school facility planning and assessments to summarize the input and put together costs analysis to be presented at the October 13th school board meeting.
“Sitelogiq, the team that we’ve hired has done that in many other districts and been pretty successful in passing these referendums. But they’ve also made sure that they were very sensitive to the needs of the entire community,” said Ledford.
Among the options is having the elementary move into the junior high school building or renovating the existing elementary.
He said if a bond proposal ends up being an option, it would not go up for a vote until mid or late next year.