Board discusses moving high school plan forward

The Fairfield school board discussed top priorities for the high school facilities Monday, reviewed survey results from 41 high school staffs? priorities and discussed the best way to move forward with a design plan.

Board member Amy Miller asked about cost differences in remodeling the 1939 Fairfield High School building and its later additions, versus new construction.

Administrators replied, ?Not much.?

?We have good space to the west [of the high school] for a fine arts wing or science center,? said board member Jeri Kunkle.

Board member Jerry Nelson said the community would support a remodel or renovation of the high school, but not a whole new high school building.

?If we don?t have a high school that students want to come to, one that attracts families relocating, the community loses out,? said board President Jennifer Anderson.

Nelson advised not using that message with the public.

?They?ve heard it all before, about building the new library, about the last defeated bond issue for the school,? he said. ?It was supposed to all bring new families here.?

Anderson said hopefully, Nelson and others would see updating the high school as community progress.

?If that?s what?s been said in the past, and you?re saying it doesn?t work, or don?t use it again, what message should we have?? board member Bob Waugh asked Nelson.

Miller and Anderson both expressed a desire to have community input; Nelson cautioned the board to ?be careful. You?ve cried wolf so many times . . .?

He said the board should take small steps to make improvements. The previous bond vote was defeated 85 percent to 15 percent because it was too big, too expensive and not understood, he said.

Superintendent Art Sathoff agreed with Nelson?s assessment of the bond vote.

?When talking funding, we need to keep the big picture in mind,? Sathoff said. ?We don?t want to wait to give the best education possible to our students. We need to get more access to technology and collaboration space to implement the 21st Century Learning Skills.

?You?ve been attending school board meetings long before being elected in September,? Sathoff said to Nelson. ?You?ve been interested, vocal and became a lightning rod for negativity.?

Miller and other board members asked Nelson if he couldn?t talk with the people he hears from in a more positive manner about the school board?s intentions to provide the best education possible.

?Can?t you tell people that we?re not just trying to spend money willy-nilly?? asked Miller.

?I don?t want to convince anyone,? said Nelson. ?I want to renovate the high school, have air conditioning and better lighting. The trouble is, we don?t run in the same circles.?

Other board members and Sathoff pointed out that was a good point; more circles means further spreading the message.

?You?re being too negative in the community,? Kunkle said to Nelson.

Sathoff said the district is using Shive-Hattery?s services for visioning the high school facility project, but it?s up to the board and district to set the priorities.

?We?d probably have the community more behind us if we did have a local expert available to give us guidance,? said board member Rich Metcalf.

?I?d like to have a public hearing where the community, the teachers and students share their priorities with us,? said Anderson.

Kunkle asked if the current board intended to trash all the work done previously, which involved input from all the stakeholders.

?Can we look at the previous final plan and discard those things too grandiose?? asked Kunkle.

Anderson reiterated she wants to know why voters rejected the previous plan, what parts they were saying ?no? to.

?We?ve been having these studies for the past 10 years,? said Waugh. ?But we?re not getting it done. I want to hear from the pubic, too.?

?Well, it?s been a discussion!? Nelson said about his impression of the meeting.

Metcalf said he didn?t think the meeting was productive enough.

?Yes, people expressed opinions, and that?s good. But we need to get to the needs at the high school,? he said. ?We need to ask the community what it?s willing to support. And I?m not sure how to do that.?

Sathoff agreed he would have liked to have had ?a few more tangibles,? from the meeting, but also said the discussions were good.