School officials urge community to plan now for new building, save later

Starting plans for a new elementary school this year could save Sidney big money in the long run.

At a public meeting at Sidney community center last night, Sidney public schools superintendent, Jay Ehler emphasized how important it was to get community input before moving ahead with possible plans for a new elementary school. The plans presented during the meeting were put together by Project One, a construction management company that the school board plans to use for the building, if it is approved.

The board of education wishes to start borrowing for the school this year because of current low interest rates.

"Now seems like the time to do it," Ehler said.

There are quite a few financial and logistical problems with the current schools. Right now, Sidney's public schools are losing a significant amount of money on transportation costs for teachers, who must travel between the buildings, and on maintenance costs for older structures. Also, many parents with children at different schools have to drop their kids off and pick them up at multiple locations each day.

The South building was built in 1955, the Central building in 1953 and the North building in 1929. The new school would replace the North, South and Central campuses and combine all the elementary schools.

"One of the issues is we have a lot of shared space," Ehler said.

Currently North elementary has a shared room where music and computer classes take place, as well as library time and student guidance. Usually at least two of these classes or activities are happening at the same time, in the same room.

The North building also has a lot of problems with a leaking roof.

"We're constantly replacing ceiling tiles," Ehler said.

Another issue in these older buildings is wiring for modern appliances.

"These buildings were not made for 21st century technology," Ehler said.

These are big concerns, because the enrollment in Sidney public elementary schools could start getting larger.

"Unlike most rural communities, Sidney's population is growing younger," Ehler pointed out.

Electrical and plumbing issues are major concerns in the aging buildings. There are also additional costs associated with operating three separate cafeterias, gyms and music areas.

Annual utilities and maintenance for such necessities as leaky roofs could be cut by 15-20 percent with a new building. Current expenses for utilities and limited maintenance are $66,000 at the North building, $44,000 at the South building and $53,000 at the Central building.

The board of education will decide in the next month or so whether or not to hold a bond election for a $16 million issuance to finance the new elementary school.

If they wait and interest rates go up by even one percent, it would raise the overall cost by $1.7 million, Ehler said. Cabela's is planning to donate $1 million toward the new school, if approval goes through.

The board of education and the new school committee have narrowed the possible location down to two sites. One of them is just off of Fort Sidney Road. The second possible location would be on the Toledo extension, diagonal from where the new hospital will be built.

Although some at the meeting voiced concerns about cost, most seemed to acknowledge the need for a new school.

"It's a good time because of the low cost of money," Larry Westfall said. "It'd be hard to find a better time to do it."

He said he faced problems when his two children went to Sidney public elementary schools.

"Transportation was an issue," Westfall said. "If Sidney grows, that'll probably increase."