Published: June 29, 2009 09:07 pm      

Maconaquah board looking for options

Renovation still needed after referendum defeated.

BUNKER HILL —  The Maconaquah School Corp.’s $19 million renovation project was defeated in a referendum, but the work still must be done, according to Superintendent Debra Jones.

On July 7, the Maconaquah School Board will host an open work session to consider how it can legally proceed, and how it can get done with community support.

The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. in the Maconaquah High School library.

Jones said representatives for City Securities, the financial adviser for the defeated project, Gibralter Designs and legal counsel will be at the meeting, and supporters and opponents have also been invited.

“They’re all going to bring information about what we can and cannot do. We couldn’t go forward with the exact project for $19 million. We can do small amounts that don’t require a referendum.”

Any project more than $10 million is subject to a referendum process, she said, so it is possible the work could be done in a series of smaller projects less than $10 million.

The defeated $19 million project included what Jones called basic upgrades and repairs to equipment either original to Maconaquah High School and Maconaquah Middle School, or well past its life expectancy.

The high school was built in 1964, while the middle school was built in 1968.

It included replacing pneumatic controls, boilers and the electrical distribution system, and removing tiered floors from former music classrooms to make those three classrooms available for other classes.

Jones said at a recent superintendents’ conference, she spoke to other school leaders whose projects were defeated in a referendum and “several others have done smaller projects. You just work with your opponents and try to come up with something.”

• Danielle Rush is the Kokomo Tribune education reporter. Contact her at (765) 454-8585 or danielle.rush@kokomotribune.com