The USD 377 board has been working from a facilities improvement plan built around a 2024 assessment that identified $3.2 million in immediate needs. The district has been working through those projects using Capital Outlay funds, with a goal of completing everything on the list by 2035.
Items still ahead on that plan include replacing roofs at both the junior-senior high and elementary schools, installing an ADA compliant playground surface, converting the little gym into 2 classrooms, resurfacing the Circle Drive, and replacing windows at the high school.
One major issue not included in the original facilities assessment is the junior-senior high school's 8-lane rubber surface running track. The track has been in place since 1998 and resurfaced multiple times, most recently in 2020. Three separate companies evaluated the surface and all 3 reached the same conclusion: the foundation has deteriorated to the point that any repair would be a temporary fix at best. All 3 recommended a complete rebuild from the foundation up, at a cost of just under $1 million.
On May 13th, after more than 3 months of deliberation, the board passed a resolution requesting authority for 2 additional mills of Capital Outlay for a period of 10 years. Those 2 mills would fund a lease purchase to fully rebuild the track while keeping the broader facilities improvement plan on schedule.
Word of the board’s goal came through a letter intended for parents and patrons of the school district.
