Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

District gets project news

Members of the Prescott School Board may have been expecting to face a tough decision regarding how to fund repairs and renovations to the districts academic building, but instead discovered that at least one of the projects will likely be put on hold.

Prescott Superintendent Hyacinth Deon told board members that the roof of the McRae Middle School band and science building doesnt qualify for state funds, meaning the options for that project have changed.

The roof is one project on the districts planned facilities repairs for the current year and board members had been asked to think about options for funding that project. The state has mandated a series of projects at districts around the state and state officials have indicated that many districts are struggling to find a way to pay for those projects. The state is partnering with the districts on specific projects. At Prescott, the state will pay about half of projects that meet their criteria.

In the case of the Prescott district, board members took the issue to voters, but a millage increase was rejected. Now, the board is working to continually update the districts planned projects and to decide how to pay for those projects.

The facilities plan was on the boards agenda but Deon opened the discussion by saying that the MMS science and band building doesnt qualify for the state funding.

Another project slated for the current year is the roof for the older high school gym. Deon said theres no certainty that project will qualify either. She said the project originally was slated at $167,000 but said the cost could be much more expensive. She said there could be asbestos abatement and early estimates are $279,000.