School’s debt to be paid off in 2020

The current school bond will be paid off in early 2020, and the first steps were taken to plan for the next bond issue at this month’s meeting of the Clinton School Board. Board members voted to authorize Superintendent of Schools Kevin Hime to engage the services of an architectural firm, in order to evaluate what the district’s next proposed building project will be. 
“It takes 12 to 15 months to have a plan to present for the next bond issue, so we have to start now,” explained Hime. “It takes about six months to process getting recommendations and cost estimates, and then another six months to discuss it with the community and work with them on it. 
“The architects walk through all the schools and give us recommendations on what needs to be done, with the agreement that no fees will be charged unless a bond is passed. If a bond fails, then they’ve done a lot of work for free. That’s standard whenever someone is working with a school district on a building project.”
He said Boynton Williams & Associates architects will be looking at what needs to be done and then make determinations on what can be remodeled, what isn’t worth remodeling, and what may be needed to bring a structure up to 2020 codes. 
Once the architects have made their recommendations, Hime said, then the district’s contractors, Joe D. Hall, Inc., come in and determine costs for the recommended projects. The contractor will have the same agreement with the district, that no fees will be charged unless a bond is passed. 
“Once the contractor does that, we can make decisions on which projects to choose. Are you going to remodel? Is it economically sound to remodel?
“Parts of Clinton Middle School were built in the 1930s, and the other schools were built in the 1950s and 1960s. We’re always looking at maintenance projects that need to be done. We have to think about what we want our schools to look like in another 10 years, in 2030.”
The current bond, for just over $17 mil, was used to remodel the cafeteria and six classrooms at Nance Elementary; the third grade wing and cafeteria at Southwest; four classrooms and the office at Washington; the middle school auditorium; and the practice gym, football and basketball locker rooms, wrestling room, and band hall at the high school. 
The exact date hasn’t yet been set on when Boynton Williams & Associates will begin their evaluation process.