After another lengthy rundown of district needs from Scott Stanley, director of operations for USD 257, Iola board of education members agreed Monday to pursue new building facilities.
Stanley estimated Iola’s school facilities need about $10 million worth of repairs and maintenance work over the next 10 years.
BOE member Darrel Catron said although teachers and administrators in Iola are performing well, the same cannot be said for district facilities.
“We believe our school building structures are inadequate in providing the needed 21st century learning skills necessary to maximize our students’ learning,” he said speaking on behalf of the entire board.
With $542,500 worth of maintenance projects scheduled for this school year alone — the two big ticket items being a $45,000 replacement and upgrade project for the heating and cooling devices on the district buildings and a $420,000 re-roof project for the science building, Crossroads and two sections of Lincoln Elementary — and only about $125,000 available, Stanley said many needed repairs and upgrades will be neglected.
Superintendent of Schools Brian Pekarek said the district simply doesn’t have the money to keep up with the needs of aging school facilities.
“We aren’t able to generate enough money within the district to do all this stuff,” he said.
Making repairs on the cheap just to get by temporarily means more costly repairs somewhere down the line, Pekarek added.
USD 257 has the second oldest facilities and the absolute oldest high school in Kansas.
“We feel obligated to explore possibilities for building new facilities,” Catron said.
Pekarek said the next step in the process is to research possible building sights and develop a strategy to move forward.
