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Mathews board discusses putting bond issue on ballot
BY JORDAN COHEN
VIENNA
Mathews Board of Education is expected to return to voters with a bond issue in November that would finance construction of a new building housing grades six through 12.
The structure would replace Mathews High School and Neal Middle School, which is scheduled to be closed at the end of the next school year.
The board discussed the bond issue during a meeting that continued late Wednesday with members indicating there would be a vote on it before the meeting concluded. No decision had been made by 11 p.m.
Initial figures calculated during the meeting indicated the amount of the issue to finance the building would be about $16 million.
“I don’t believe it would cost [the voters] more than 6 mills,” said Superintendent Lee Seiple.
Seiple recommended the site for the new building at Baker Elementary School, which would be retained, as would Currie Elementary. The bond issue also would finance roof replacements for both buildings, with Currie housing kindergarten and first grades ,and second through fifth grades going to Baker.
“Keeping those schools has been an issue,” said Ken Wallace, board member.
The board had returned to the bond issue after a lengthy discussion of alternatives to building construction. One would involve the purchase and installation of modular classrooms at an estimated $200,000; the other would renovate two classrooms at the high school at an estimated $374,000.
These measures would be needed to house students moved by the planned closing of Neal Middle School.
The estimates were provided by architect John DeFrance, who referred to them as “a stopgap measure.”
Instead, the board indicated it would consider the bond issue first and go with one of the other options in the event the issue fails.
“You have to ask yourself if you can sell this to the community,” Seiple said.
The board approved spending $45,540 to replace a boiler at Neal, which was deemed necessary even though the school will be closed in June 2011. Seiple earlier this year had recommended that Neal be closed with the start of the next school year, but the board decided against it after complaints from a number of school-district residents.