District 13 moves forward with $32 million bond

Posted

About two dozen people attended the District 13 Board of Education’s special meeting on Sept. 30, when it approved a proposal to borrow money for repairs and improvements to its facilities and set a date for voters to accept or reject it.

The board fielded questions about the proposed $35 million bond, which would be used for capital projects, not programs. A recurring question was whether the money would provide for air conditioning in the school buildings, as temperatures are remaining higher later into fall. The proposed bond would include funds for air conditioning units in the auditoriums at the district’s administration building and the Wheeler Avenue School.

Board President Toni Pomerantz said that the district would continue to discuss getting air conditioning for the gymnasiums at Willow and Howell Road Schools, which don’t have auditoriums and use the gyms for large assemblies.

There will be a district vote on the bond on Dec. 8, along with a special election for the seat vacated by Denise Diodato, who unseated Jeanne Greco Jacobs in May, but accepted a promotion at her job and resigned from the board in September in lieu of a move to Florida.

Diodato’s successor would finish her three-year term on June 30, 2018. Petitions for potential candidates are available at the district office, Pomerantz said.