Superintendent to educate fairgoers on proposed middle school

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield Schools Superintendent Laurie Noll will be at the Greater Jefferson County Fair all week hoping to educate the public about the district’s plans for a new middle school.

During Monday’s meeting of the Fairfield Community School Board, the board approved the language that will appear on the ballot Sept. 14 when voters in the district will decide whether to issue general obligation bonds for a new middle school.

The district is asking for a bond of $34 million to “construct, furnish and equip a new middle school; to construct, build, furnish and equip new tennis courts; improve those sites; and add high school gymnasium HVAC.”

But before the bond goes to a vote, the district needs to get 700 signatures from eligible voters in the district. Noll said those who sign the petition aren’t committing to voting for the measure, just allowing the district to put it up for a vote.

To educate the public about the district’s plans and why it needs a new middle school, Noll said she will have a booth set up from Wednesday through Sunday at the fairgrounds. She plans to be there from 5-9 p.m. Wednesday, from 1-9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and from 1-5 p.m. Sunday.

Noll said she plans to explain to the public that, after a series of community meetings, the district realized it would cost too much money to renovate the existing middle school. However, the district is able to save money by building on land it already owns, and by reusing the geothermal equipment that heats and cools the middle school now.

Teacher pay

In other news, the board approved the contract with the Fairfield Community Education Association for the 2021-22 school year. The contract increases teacher compensation 1.8 percent. The 123 teacher salaries cost the district approximately $6.23 million. The district locked in the language of the contract for everything except wages for three years. Wages are negotiated every year between the board and teachers union.

Habitat for Humanity

The board agreed to continue its partnership with the Greater Fairfield Area Habitat for Humanity, which involves having a high school class help build a Habitat home. Apart from certain tasks that must be done by licensed contractors, the students are largely responsible for building the house under the supervision of Fairfield High School instructor Shawn Peck and Habitat’s construction supervisor. The school was not able to participate in the program this past school year because of the pandemic.