Summer Date for $10 Million Bond
By Sandy Cooch

With final details on a $10-million school construction project nearing completion, Randolph Union High School officials are looking to early summer as a likely time to schedule a bond vote.

Mike van Dyke, a member of a building committee that has spent months finetuning the project and collecting estimates, reported to the RUHS board Jan. 10 that the $10-million cap the board set in July still looks like a workable amount. The building committee prepared a proposed timeline that suggested a bond vote for June 2007, construction to start in March 2008, and completion of the project by December 2009.

RUHS Principal John Holmes noted that the committee continues to find cost-effective solutions to what were described as million-dollar problems last May by an estimating team from a large contractor.

For example, the committee has found that the school’s elevator can be rehabbed, for a fraction of the $1-million figure proposed by the Pizzagalli Construction team. Also, Holmes said, the committee believes the construction project can be done without renting a fleet of portable classrooms, as the estimators had promoted.

Prior to the bond vote, voters will have multiple opportunities to learn about the project, with possible activities ranging from presentations and forums, to news reports, presentations to service organizations, letters to parents, and advertising on the radio. The effort will need a coordinator, it was agreed and should involve the CSO (Community School Organization.)

Principal Holmes reported that further research revealed that the $25,000 set-aside at last month’s meeting to purchase a leveling device to prevent electrical "spikes" would not be a good investment after all.

Because of state requirements to improve energy efficiency, RUHS will need to add a capacitator and possibly do away with one of two transformers. As a result, the RUHS kitchen might be converted to propane.

A state inspector will inspect the RUHS system and give recommendations. It was noted that the state will help pay for equipment, if it is included in the bond issue.

Holmes also discussed the purchase of a Dali system for light ballasts, which would result in savings. Costs for these improvements would be included in the bond amount.

The project will also include a new roof, insulation, and for the entire building, sprinklers in some areas, and improved handicapped accessibility.

"Ninety percent of what we want to do will be invisible to the average person walking down the hall," commented board member Ron Beaudin of Brookfield.

New Electives

In other business at the RUHS board meeting, Supt. Brent Kay distributed syllabi for two new proposed electives. One is "Latin American Civilization and Culture," to be taught by Betsy Parah of the foreign language department, and the other is a junior honors literature and composition course, to be taught by Donna Viens of the English department.

RUHS staff committees have completed all eight "self-study" reports required for the school’s 10-year accreditation review, Principal Holmes told the board. A team from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges will visit RUHS in April to conduct its evaluation. The board will review and approve the self-study documents.

30 Applications

More than 30 applications have been received for the middle school principal position being vacated by Judy Hynes at the end of this school year.

Members of a hiring committee are checking references on seven top candidates and will call them in for interviews. The committee hopes to have a recommendation to the board at next month’s meeting.

The board approved RUHS’s continuing participation in the Winooski Valley School Choice Agreement for 2007-08. RUHS will accept no more than eight students and send no more than eight students to other schools in the collaborative.

The board accepted the announced tuition amounts of $11,786 for grades 7-8, and $11, 593 for grades 9 -12.

The board accepted the resignations of paraeducator James Poindexter, and assistant cook Lisa Wright.

A contract for Bonnie Hyde as an assistant cook for the balance of the school year was approved.

Policy Governance

Board members hope to adopt a "policy governance" model of governance in which board roles and the relationship with administrators are more clearly defined, it was noted.

Board member Beaudin added that he thought this model would help "rookie" board members learn their jobs, and help the entire board to keep goals forefront.

Supt. Kay noted that the Randolph Elementary School Board has incorporated policy governance principles into its operations.

A policy governance presentation is planned for the March meeting.

_________