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USD
420 Board of Education
Osage
City schools begin planning
for facilities upgrades
Wayne White | Managing Editor
OSAGE CITY—Osage City school board members are looking toward
the future, and are asking the community for guidance during planning
of possible facilities’ upgrades.
According to USD 420 Superintendent David Carriger, the board has
been considering facilities improvements for the last 12 months,
and recently established a citizens’ task force that will
meet for the first time next month.
Carriger said he believes discussion will focus on improvements
at Osage City Elementary School and consideration of the district’s
sports facilities.
He said the elementary school has not had any major improvements
since the 1950s.
“We’ve looked at several things but have pinpointed
the windows, which are very inefficient,” Carriger said last
week. “The heating and air system needs to be updated. Some
of the window (air conditioning) units are close to 20 years old.”
In addition, plumbing and electrical systems at the school need
upgrades.
He said the district has a history of seeking advice from patrons
when making decisions regarding facilities.
“We established a citizens group 10 years ago and sought feedback
from the community,” he said. The result was renovations to
the school complex and construction of an auditorium.
The citizens group acted as ambassadors for the school district,
he said. “They went out and got ideas and suggestions from
the community.”
At the board’s direction, district architects Schaefer, Johnson,
Cox, and Frey have been surveying faculty and staff to determine
needed improvements in the district.
As planned, results of surveys will be presented at the first meeting
of the citizens’ advisory group, 6 p.m. Jan. 14, at the high
school auditorium. The meeting will be open to the public; all in
attendance will be able to tour the facilities.
“We’ll look at the problem areas during the introductory
meeting of the task force,” Carriger said.
He said after architects consult with faculty, staff, task force
members and the community, it could take up to a year for a plan
to be developed. Taken into consideration will be needed space for
education, activities and sports.
Also to be considered is how to pay for any plan.
“The economy is kind of rough right now,” he said. “State
funding is always an issue.”
Although funding sources for any project are not assured, putting
a plan in place is the first step, he said.
“When the task force and community feels like it’s the
right time, we’ll be ready to go,” he said.
The committee includes 28 patrons and faculty members. As planned,
committee members will meet monthly, with meetings to include the
architect and two school board members. Carriger said committee
members will be expected to talk to other patrons about the district’s
needs.
“They will go out and get feedback and bring that back to
the task force,” he said. “Getting the community involved
is key to any issue. We’ve appreciated community support in
the past. We want them to look at this and see where we can go with
it.” |
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