POLAND Board prepares for school project

Three local architects are being considered to do the design work for the building.
POLAND -- The board of education is preparing for a school building improvement project that will likely cost between $2.5 million and $5 million.
The district's staff recommends upgrades, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning improvements, in all buildings except the high school, and wants to explore construction of a cafetorium -- combined cafeteria and auditorium -- that would connect the middle school and McKinley Elementary School, said Superintendent Robert Zorn.
The cost of the project will depend on what items the board elects to include in the project, Zorn said.
Design work: Three local architects are competing for the design work, 4M Co., Hanahan & amp; Strollo and MS Consultants. The board scheduled one hour interviews with each of them at its Monday meeting.
Zorn told the board he thinks it's critical that any architect selected for the project have liability insurance coverage for asbestos-related problems.
Zorn also told the board that 300 yard signs would be displayed beginning April 23 to promote renewal of a 4.1-mill, five-year operating property tax levy on the May 8 ballot. Cindy Skinner, PTA president at McKinley Elementary School, will be chairwoman of the levy renewal campaign.