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District ponders options now that it has OK for land purchase
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Mohonasen school officials are refining their options for the district’s next building project now that voters last month approved purchasing adjacent land for expansion.
    Architects from CSArch presented to the Board of Education some updated plans for renovations of Bradt Primary School, Pinewood Intermediate School, Draper Middle School and Mohonasen High School and construction of a new transportation facility.
    Residents in May voted to purchase land adjacent to the high school and middle school campus owned by the O’Hare and Lindenman families at a price of $1.425 million. Mohonasen gets a rate of 90 percent reimbursement from the state and would get that for this land project if it is tied to this capital project.
    Among some of the details the board is still mulling is the nature of the fitness addition to Draper and the size of the transportation facility.
    Architect Ron Bagoly presented three different options for the fi tness center at Draper, varying in cost. Option one would construct a nearly 4,000-square-foot addition off the back of the girls’ locker room to house the fitness room and renovate storage space.
    However, one drawback of this plan is that this space would not be eligible to receive aid reimbursement from the state.
    The second option would be to renovate the girls’ locker room and put the fitness center at the end. A classroom that is used for special education would be displaced and moved to the music and art wing.
    The third option would be to leave the locker room where it is and renovate an existing classroom to make that the fi tness room.
    The total price tag for the middle school portion of the project would be $17.6 million for option one, $18.2 million for option two and $17.4 million for option three. ...................>>>>>................>>>>..................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01602&AppName=1

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Aid cuts affect Mohonasen improvement planning
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

    Mohonasen school officials are considering scaling back the scope of a new building project after the state cut its building aid 10 percent.
    As a result of its merger with the former Draper School District in the mid-1980s, Mohonasen had been eligible to receive 95 percent reimbursement on school construction projects.
    School officials and architects from CSArch have been discussing a plan to make improvements at all four academic buildings, plus build a new bus garage.
    However, district spokeswoman Adrienne Leon confirmed that the district’s reimbursement was reduced by 10 percent in the new state budget.
    “Given that, the board is kind of going back to the drawing board with the plans to decide what to keep, what not to keep, what to move forward with,” Leon said.
    The district is worried about further aid cuts. “Things are so uncertain at the state level,” Leon said.
    School officials have put a survey on the district’s website asking residents for their input and will also be surveying people at the different school open houses.
    Superintendent Kathleen Spring said there is a chance that the district’s building aid could be slightly less than 85 percent since the state calculates on the basis of enrollment, which has dropped.
    “It certainly has given us pause and we’re kind of taking time to think through the scope to see what’s realistic at this point, since it shifts more of the burden on to the community,” she said.....................>>>>.....................>>>>...............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01401&AppName=1