Brandon Twp.- Just in time for the holidays, a wish list has been compiled by school boardmembers and it appears they may get everything they’re asking for.
The wish list is based on a fund balance of $28 million, money remaining from a nearly $73 million bond that voters approved in 2006 for construction of a new elementary school, the purchase of buses and capital improvements throughout the district.
‘We have additional projects to consider with project savings realized,? said Jamie Cowan, executive director of fiscal affairs for the Brandon School District. ‘We have to spend the money one way or the other. We could pay down the bond debt itself or do additional projects. We’re going to spend the money, because that was the intent of the bond, to make improvements…I think it’s great we get to do more. That’s where my excitement comes from. Our intent is to stretch the dollars to do the most we can.?
With major construction completed and the district coming in under budget, additional projects being considered include new tennis courts at the high school, with lights, bleachers, and bathroom/storage building; a paved road over the bridge between the high school and middle school; upgrading of high school science rooms; repaving of the high school bus loop/parking lot; replacement of high school ventilators; a new storage shed at Belle Ann Elementary; new carpet and tile at Harvey Swanson Elementary; new paint at Harvey Swanson and H.T. Burt Elementary; new brick at the high school; new bus garage carpet; and a new roof at the high school.
‘Based on the project savings we have, it is possible to complete all the projects, but we can’t guarantee it,? Cowan said. ‘Right now it’s an idea list, with estimated costs. How big will the shed be? Things of that nature will impact how much we complete.?
SKANSKA Project Executive Chris Thronson concurred.
‘It’s possible to get all this done,? he said. ‘If they get hog wild with what they want with some of the improvements, then they’ll have to cut some projects out. If you go for the best value for the money, you can afford to do all the things on the list. Goal of everyone is to do everything on the list.?
Most projects will begin in the spring, with the possible exception of paving the road over the bridge between the high school and middle school, which Thronson hopes to get in before December.