Kellogg Voters Face School Bond Levy Options Meetings Planned On Oct. 28 Vote To Replace Old Elementary School

A wish list that gives residents several options for a bond levy to replace the city’s oldest school will be the topic of public meetings this week, starting tonight.

The A+ Schools for the 21st Century Committee and school officials will attend the 7 p.m. meeting at Canyon School. Similar meetings are scheduled Wednesday at Pinehurst School, Thursday at Sunnyside School and next Tuesday at Kellogg High School.

It has been 25 years since the last facilities bond levy vote in Kellogg, when the middle school was built in 1972.

This time, it’s a new elementary school that’s needed. Sunnyside Elementary School, built in 1929, no longer meets fire, safety and handicapped accessibility codes. It also lacks the capacity for modern computers.

“It is very, very difficult to equip those classrooms with current technology because the building simply was not wired nor has the outlets to accommodate that,” said Kellogg School Superintendent Greg Godwin.

Remodeling the three-story school would cost nearly as much as building a new school, district officials said. So, on Oct. 28, Kellogg residents will face a choice of three property tax options to choose how much they want to spend and what they want to build with the funds.

“This is a relatively new way of presenting a bond to taxpayers,” Godwin said of the menu option. “This is just one more way to give citizens input on exactly the kind of project they would like to see done in the Kellogg School District.”

The three options range in cost from $3.8 million to $6.6 million. Voters can choose any one of the three options or none at all.

The first and most expensive option would build an elementary school behind the district-owned Kellogg Middle School site. Kellogg High School also would be upgraded, with a new shop and space for the ROTC program.

The current shop would be turned into science labs and the current ROTC space would become an expanded career and

media center. Plumbing and energy efficiency also would be improved.

The second option, for $4.4 million, would pay for remodeling Pinehurst Elementary School to house all students from Kellogg and Pinehurst, while the least expensive option simply would build an elementary school.

In 1995, the board of trustees began brainstorming what facilities would be needed as part of the district’s strategic plan. In the spring of 1996, a citizens committee and two professional consultants made specific recommendations to the board on renovation or replacement of the district’s buildings.

If a bond passes, the target for opening a new school would be fall 1999. The district likely would sell Sunnyside Elementary School, using the money either to pay off bond debt or to invest for future buildings.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: BOND LEVY OPTIONS On Oct. 28, Kellogg voters who want a bond levy can choose from three options: The $6.6 million option to construct an elementary school and remodel Kellogg High School would raise taxes on a $40,000 home by $69.20 per year. The $4.4 million option would pay for remodeling Pinehurst Elementary School, raising taxes on a $40,000 home by $46 a year. The $3.8 million option would pay for construction of an elementary school and would raise taxes on a $40,000 home by $40 a year.