Havre superintendent proposes building plan

Havre School Superintendent Andy Carlson is recommending the school board approve a construction plan to improve the locker and physical training areas of the high school and a considerable renovation of Sunnyside Intermediate School.

Carlson made the suggestion to the board Tuesday night. Members took the plan under consideration.

The proposal would need voters approval.

Carlson said he will have definite figures on the cost of the program by the June school board meeting.

He hopes the board will approve the plan and pass it along to voters.

A mail-in ballot could take place in October or November, he said.

Renovation of the high school locker rooms would improve the appearance, safety and the ability of staff to supervise operations in the locker rooms, he said. The locker area has basically been untouched since the school opened 50 years ago, he said.

Improving the training and wrestling areas would offer students better facilities and save the district the time and expense of having students travel to the wrestling facility in downtown Havre.

The district would bond $2.6 million over 15 years to pay for the project, he said, raising taxes about $15.45 on a $200,000 home, he said.

That is less than taxpayers are now paying annually to the high school reserve fund. By bonding the project, the state will pay part of the cost, Carlson said.

Much of the Sunnyside work would be paid for by a $2 million grant the Montana Department of Commerce approved for the district. He credited District Clerk Mike Arnold, Director of Education Leland Stocker and Special Education and Personnel Director Karla Wholwend, for writing the persuasive grant request.

The Sunnyside request calls for improving and enlarging office space, constructing music room facilities and providing better special education space that has been lacking.

The second phase of the Sunnyside project involves construction of a gymnasium. Details on the cost of that project are being worked on, he said.