SPS Discusses New School

Construction of a new elementary school building was the featured topic at Sidney’s Public Schools Board of Education’s May meeting on Monday night.

Superintendent Jay Ehler said that this has been discussed off and on throughout the year, as far as how they are going to do it, when they are going to do it, where is it going to be located. He went on to say that he thinks that “we are getting to the point now where we need to decide if we are going to have a special election or do we want to have it during the general election.”

Ehler added that if it is going to be a special election, he would need 50 days to let the county know that they are going to do that.

Board member Steve Mattoon, who wasn’t present at this meeting, earlier expressed his belief that members should consider holding a public meeting, according to Ehler. This would allow residents the opportunity to present their concerns. It would also give the BOE members and the school system the opportunity to discuss some of those reasons why the city needs a new building at this particular time.

Project One was contacted by Ehler and, he pointed out, “they will be happy to do some sort of power point for us. That is something that maybe we should consider. The other thing maybe that the board needs to consider is a September election versus a November election. The advantage to a September would be that if it does pass, our bond agent D.A. Davidson would have the opportunity to sell some bonds this year. Remember there is a limit on the amount you can sell.”

The bond limit is $10 million in a single year. Ehler added that if they wait until November, Davidson more than likely would not be able to get any sold prior to January 1. Between January 1 and December 31 of 2014 they would only be able to sell $10 million. If they estimates includecd a $15 million building, the timeline becomes an issue.

If passed in September, on the other hand, they can sell additional bonds. From a bond agent’s perspective, Ehler said that he liked the idea of September versus November.

Ehler reminded the members that they discussed moving the BOE meeting to June 17; that would open up the week of June 10-12 to maybe give enough time to get things together and to get the meeting advertised so that the community

could be aware of the meeting that

they will probably hold at the high school

auditorium. He added that that way, people

can come in and take a look at it.

According to Ehler, those are some of the

things that the BOE members have been

tossing around and at this point they need to

decide if they want to proceed with that; the

power point and to at least get far enough

so that they can make a decision at the June

meeting whether or not they want to have a

special election in September.

BOE member Randy Miller said that he

thinks “the public meetings in June are a

fantastic idea; I think it’s paramount that

we have them. I think it is very, very important

for the public to get involved.”

He went on to say that the public has to

be informed about what they are going to

vote on. Not that they are just going to vote

for a new school; they need to know the specifics

and they need to know why and why

not, they need to know the pros and the

cons, what’s good and what’s bad.

Miller added that he also likes the idea to

have the BOE meeting after those meetings

so that they can discuss the response from

the public.

Miller says he feels that they need to get

the ball rolling. He added that the interest

rates are so low right now it’s paramount

that you they take advantage of those interest

rates. Every percent will cost $1.9 million

on a $15 million building.

Scheduling the public meetings on dates

that will accommodate everyone’s schedule

was discussed, and Miller feels that

is important so that everyone will have a

chance to attend.

The next Sidney Public Schools BOE

meeting is on June 17.

In conclusion, Ehler said that he will let

the media know when the confirmed dates

for the public meetings will be so that the

public can be informed and have the opportunity

to come in and voice their opinion.