By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Board of Education is expecting to hold a special meeting in October to discuss long-range planning for the school district.
The Colfax school district has “done a lot” in the last few years with construction, remodeling, updating and regular maintenance, said William C. Yingst Jr., school district administrator, at the Colfax Board of Education’s September 16 meeting.
The question now is — what does the future look like for the Colfax school district? he said.
Are there additional upgrades, updates or maintenance that needs to be done? Yingst asked.
In the last five or six years, the Colfax school district has completed the energy efficiency projects and the projects approved by voters in the November 2016 referendum, he said.
All of those projects “have moved the district forward,” Yingst said.
School Perceptions could be brought in again to survey the community to find out about “wants and needs” for the school district, he noted.
“It is better to be pro-active than re-active,” Yingst said.
So far, the Colfax school district has replaced roofs and boilers, the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system (HVAC) as well as all of the safety upgrades, including moving the high school office to the perimeter of the building and making all of the entrances secure. The tennis courts also have been replaced, he said.
A discussion would be useful to see if the school district “wants to explore other options,” Yingst said.
The decision to replace the tennis courts was “last minute,” said Ken Bjork, school board member.
While Bjork said he agreed the tennis courts should have been updated, he also was of the opinion that better planning should have been used to decide when the tennis courts would be done.
Having a long-range plan is “a good idea,” and once the plan is in place, it can be “adjusted accordingly” if projects have to be moved around, he said.
Fund 46 contains $120,000 and will mature next June, “so that’s another thing to look at,” Yingst said.
When school districts start a Fund 46, a list of projects must also be specified. After school districts have put money into a Fund 46 for five years, the money can be used.
Kragness said the long-range planning meeting should be a separate meeting and not part of the regular school board meeting.
“I think we’re all in favor,” he said.
All of the school board members have experience now with planning, and “it’s a good idea to find out where we are going next,” Yingst said.
Yingst said he would select some dates in October, and then school board members could let him know what would work best for them.
