Proposed $14.5 million capital project at Kendall will be on ballot May 15
KENDALL – When district residents go to the polls on may 15 to vote on the school budget and a candidate for the Board of Education, they will also decide the fate of a proposed $14.5 million capital project.
Voting will be from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the elementary school gym.
Kendall school leaders say they already have the local share for the work in a capital reserve fund so there wouldn’t be a local tax increase if the project is approved.
The project follows a series of other improvements at the district campus in recent years.
The project would include addressing health, safety and code issues as well as preservation of infrastructure and enhancement of the instructional environment.
The scope of the capital project includes:
• Proposed improvements to the Elementary School include improving ventilation on the second floor of the quad and auditorium; renovation of the multi-purpose room for technology, agriculture and consumer science programs; replacement of the original gym bleachers and the gym floor, renovation of locker rooms, and a re-design of the cafeteria and serving line.
• Improvements proposed for the Jr./Sr. High School include renovation of the art, technology and music rooms which would address accessibility, storage and ventilation; replacement of gym floors and bleachers; renovation of the girls’ locker room; renovation of music practice rooms; renovation o the lavatory in the arts hall; update of the public access system; ventilation in the office and gym; improving light and sound and providing fly space for set productions in the auditorium; addition of a vestibule at the entrance to the art and music wing.
• Site improvements could include lighting and traffic flow at the Elementary School front loop; improvement of traffic flow at the Jr./Sr. High School bus loop; drainage in the athletic fields, addition of bathrooms and storage by the track and sidewalks from the High School cafe to the tennis courts.
• The bus garage is in need of roof repairs, an update to the fuel system and outside lighting as well as improvements to the water line. The old bus garage behind the Elementary School is in need of replacement windows and doors, Julie Christensen, district superintendent, said at a January community meeting about the project.
If approved by district voters, the construction could begin in 2019 and be completed by 2020.
Detailed plans and design work will not begin until the project is approved, Christensen said.
