Northeast Dubois County Prepares for Major School Renovations

The Board officially opened a public hearing on some proposed building renovations and improvements, with Superintendent Dr. Rasche saying that “we are in dire need of some major facility repairs.” The hearing is required by law whenever a school corporation wants to construct a building or make renovations in excess of a million dollars. Some of the items that were described as being high priority included the roof and gutters at the intermediate school, the gutters and boilers at the elementary school, and door repairs and replacements at the junior/senior high school. At this time, the school corporation has an opportunity to complete the repairs tax rate neutral by utilizing bond funds. 

A representative from Stifel Public Finance was on hand to provide some explanation of what the potential bond issue estimated at just over two million dollars might look like going forward, saying that the numbers could be brought down, but could not be increased, once they are set. The estimates were described as being conservative, as the bonds would not be sold until October if the project goes forward, and there is potential for significant shifts in the market during that time. The hearing was closed with no public comments being offered, and the Board approved the project resolution. The regular meeting continued with the Board approving the Notice of Determination, a legal requirement to move forward with the renovation project. The Board must determine that there is a need for the project, which will be done at the next regular Board meeting on September 17 th . The Notice of Determination will appear in the Herald as well as the Corporation’s webpage. 

In other business, the Board gave their permission to advertise for the budget, capital projects fund, and bus replacement plan budget hearing. The Teacher Appreciation Grant Policy and Teacher Evaluation System were both approved. In addition, the School Improvement Plan for 24-25 and the 24-26 Exceptional Children’s Co-op agreement were approved. A series of hiring recommendations was approved, including multiple assistant positions and a Varsity Boys Tennis Coach. A series of field trips was also approved. The Boys Tennis team will attend a tennis match in Evansville in a few days. The FFA was approved to attend a series of events including the State Horticulture Contest at Purdue, the SOAR Leadership Camp, the State Livestock Skillathon at Purdue, the FIRE Leadership Camp, and State Crops, Forestry, and Entomology also at Purdue. 

There will be no school on Labor Day, September 2 nd . As always, weather information for school cancellations and delays can be found on local news networks including WITZ radio.