At their meeting Thursday, school officials handled these matters:

At their meeting Thursday, school officials handled these matters:

Received an update on construction of a middle school/high school and related bids. Several documents regarding bids for electricity, plumbing, masonry and other costs should be released in January and awarded in February, with construction of the $14.8 million building to begin next spring, noted Superintendent Buck Palmer. The cost for site work came in around $544,830, which is about $200,000 under budget, he noted. The school for pupils in grades six through 12 is to open in September 2009.

Discussed a five-year, 5.6-mill operating renewal levy to be on the March 4 ballot. The levy would generate around $990,000 annually that would go toward utility, personnel, transportation and other operating expenses, Palmer said. Passage of the levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $168 a year, Treasurer John Zinger noted.

Heard ideas from Victor Wolfe and Dr. Jeffrey Tharp, both of whom will next month begin four-year terms as board members and will replace Todd Carpenter, an eight-year member, and Mitch Mascioli, who served four years. Wolfe said one of his main priorities is to see that the community and civic leaders are better informed about school board-related business. Tharp said he wants to see the new school set up with technology and tools to prepare pupils for success in the 21st century. “I think Jackson-Milton can become a model for a 21st-century school,” Tharp said, adding that he also wants to help the district continue to operate cost-effectively.