With bond passed, high school officials look ahead

In the wake of the Central High School District’s $41 million bond vote on Dec. 6, school officials said the next steps of the project are underway with construction expected to begin in the summer of 2018.

“Essentially the next step in the process is [that] we’ve been working with an architect,” Superintendent Bill Heidenreich said. “We have to submit plans for approval for the State Education Department.”

The bond passed by a 54 percent margin, 612 yes votes to 528 no votes, and Heidenreich said one of the first steps in the next phase is also to conduct environmental impact studies on the improvement areas. The bond will cover major repairs to the roofs, upgrades to the science labs, masonry and ventilation repairs, bathroom replacements and electrical service upgrades.

Roughly $8 million of the proposal will fund multi-sport artificial-turf fields at every school except for Central due to lack of space. Many residents have raised concerns about the turf fields — which are made from recycled rubber tires — because of beliefs about elevated health risks associated with the material as well as their short shelf life.

Jerad Minnick, a lead adviser for the Natural Grass Advisory Group, an independent education and support organization that provides solutions in maintaining natural grass fields, said he believes many places don’t maintain their natural grass fields properly and that if they used a better approach, they wouldn’t have to spend so much money on turf fields.

“Natural grass fields could be much better than they currently are with evolving and improving maintenance [and] utilizing technology and data, and not for a lot of money,” Minnick said.

Heidenreich said the district will adhere to the parameters of the approved plan, and added that it has done its due diligence in making sure the fields are safe and will last.

After the State Education Department approves the architect’s plans, there will be competitive bidding processes for the work to be done. Heidenreich said that the State Education Department is notoriously slow at approving projects because it oversees so many schools. Fixing the roofs is a primary objective, he emphasized, because an architect’s report revealed they only have about two to three years left in their lifespan.

Heidenreich called the bond’s passing “satisfying," and expressed appreciation to the community. “Our schools are a point of pride for our community, and I thank the community for their continued support of our schools,” he said.