Marta McAllister Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 Proceeding of the Planning and Development Committee District No. 2, Yellowstone County High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County Billings, Montana February 4, 2008 The Planning and Development Committee Meeting of School District No. 2, Yellowstone County, Montana, and the High School District, Yellowstone County, Montana was duly held at Broadwater Elementary School, 415 Broadwater Ave, Billings, Montana, Monday, February 4, 2008, at 5:30 p.m. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Dan Martin Pledge of Allegiance: Members Present: Margaret Aukshun, Anne Barlow, Jeff Dunham, Ali Manning, and Paige Spalding. Members Excused: Sandy Mossman, Cheryl Malia-McCall, and Kathy Olson. Guest Present: Rich Whitney, Lee Kvihaug, Broadwater principal, Don Casey, Broadwater librarian, and Kathy Aragon, Board Member Communication from the Public: None Long Range Facilities Plan: Dan Martin informed the Committee that books are available which includes the study of facilities from the early eighties. Kathy Aragon noted there is great historical value in the books. Dan Martin presented the 1997-1998 elementary facility plan recommendations that were adopted by the School Board. Dan Martin explained that the district has been following this plan. Dan Martin stated that seven out of the fifteen recommendations have been completed. Dan Martin asked Committee members where their level of interest is in order to move forward to complete the 1997-1998 elementary facility plan recommendations. Committee members reviewed the list of recommendations. Dan Martin reviewed land that is currently owned by the district. There was discussion regarding where housing developments are being built and where new schools would be built. Rich Whitney explained that there are two primary sets of codes. The life safety codes which are not grandfathered and the American with Disabilities Act. Rich Whitney explained educational and useable space in a building. Dan Martin explained how bonds, interest rates, and the guaranteed tax base money from the state will impact building costs. Jeff Dunham asked if a comprehensive study has been done for Broadwater or McKinley. Dan Martin said a comprehensive study has not been done for either school. Dan Martin suggested that the next step may be to hire a professional firm to do a comprehensive study. Building new schools was discussed. Kathy Aragon’s concern is how will the district pay to operate a new school. Dan Martin explained that once a new facility is built Rimrock will be closed which will help with operational costs. There was discussion regarding busing and unsafe streets on the west end in the area where the new school is to be built. Anne Barlow asked how the district estimated the one hundred eighty million dollar figure to bring current schools up to code. Rich Whitney explained that was an estimate just for the warm, dry, safe, and assessable definition. At Budgeting for Results Committee a motion was made to add energy efficient and instructional relevance to warm, dry, and safe, which will increase the figure. Dan Martin explained that Broadwater and McKinley discussions have historically been avoided because no one knows exactly what to do with them. In addition, there has been a community emotional attachment to the buildings. There was discussion regarding the remodeling of Broadwater. Committee members questioned the feasibility, will tax payers be willing to bring it up to code since it is a historical site, and can current educational standards be met. The Committee discussed the bundling of a bond which would include the cost of building new schools and the renovation to current schools. A consensus was made to recommend to the Board that a study be done to find out how much it will cost to have Broadwater and McKinley brought up to current school standards. Dan Martin estimates the cost to have a study done would approximately be around six thousand dollars. There was a consensus by the Committee to continue to prioritize the 1997-1998 elementary facility plan list. The Committee discussed presenting a twenty year bond with staggered funding to complete. Tour of Broadwater Elementary: Lee Kvihaugh, Broadwater principal gave Committee members a tour of Broadwater elementary school. Lee Kvihaugh noted the temperature in the library where members were meeting was sixty two degrees. Lee Kvihaug explained that between him and the custodians thirty minutes a day is spent on heating problems in the building. Additional time and help from the districts boiler technicians is required. During the tour Lee Kvihaug noted not only does the building have heating problems, basement floors are continually being patched where the foundation has buckled. The building’s only bathrooms are in the basement. Running water is located outside the classroom making it difficult for such thing as science projects, etc. There are exposed pipes and wiring that run down hallways in the school. The school is not handicapped-accessible and there are many steps for small children to manipulate. Lee Kvihaug stated that the wooden floors are noisy and creek creating distractions in an educational environment. Lee Kvihaug stated a big concern of housing school students in an old building is the safety of students in case of a fire. Broadwater has an adjacent building that houses one first grade and kindergarten classes, along with the gym, cafeteria, and a couple offices which makes communication between the buildings difficult. Lee Kvihaug greatest educational concern is for the students who occupy the four basement classrooms. The rooms are dedicated to special education, tutoring and literacy-intervention programs. Lee Kvihaugh stated he doesn’t like the connotation that struggling students have to go down to get the help they need to go up. Lee Kvihaug suggested the building has many positive attributes such as nostalgia, lots of character, pride of ownership among staff and parents, and a sense of community involvement. Lee Kvihaugh noted the building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Broadwater elementary school is a 98 year old building. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. ____________________ __________________________ Dan Martin, Chair Sub Brenda Cross, Recorder Sub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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