Walton-Verona Independent School District is looking to build a new school to house its growing student population.
During a recent board meeting, the Walton-Verona Board of Education was presented with an “early schematic” of a new intermediate school, one that will house fourth and fifth grade students. The elementary school currently teaches kindergarten through fourth grade, while the middle school teaches fifth through eighth grade students. The administration believes building a new intermediate school will free up space at both facilities.
Superintendent Matthew Baker said the district has been growing at a steady pace for the last 20-plus years, so a new school must suit the needs of the district now and the projected population in 20 years’ time.
“This decision isn’t about the next 2 or 3 years, it’s about the next 20 or 30 years,” Baker said.
The school will be located on Walt Ryan Way next to the district’s sports complex. Walton-Verona is currently working with REH & Associates for the design, who proposed a building with a pickup and drop-off loop around the school, as well as two wings for classrooms. The proposed design shows 13 classrooms total, housing 325 students, “for now.”
REH & Associates pointed to at least two areas of expansion during the meeting, which Baker later said may be used in as little as five years after the school is built.
This venture marks the third major project the district has undertaken in four years, following the renovation of Walton-Verona Middle School and the completion of the preschool.
Baker told LINK nky, “We believe we have the bond potential,” to cover the project, adding the site is “build-ready” and that “creating a facility from scratch” holds fewer costly surprises than a renovation.
Still, board members shared their concerns about sustainable spending during the board meeting. The conversation started when it came time to vote on a change in the salary schedule for employees.
“So, we have this project going on, which is a ton of money, we have this adding onto it,” board member Heather Stewart said, holding up folders for each expenditure.
She said she worried these projects would be like “a car in the shop,” raising the final bill higher and higher until it’s no longer a worthy investment.
A budget for a brand new facility will be in the millions, but rising costs in building materials due to supply chain issues in addition to inflation, make a cost for the project hard to pin down. The school district will bid out the project in August with the goal of signing a contract by Sept. 29, Baker said. That said, he stressed that this was an “initial design” for the new facility, and the board will hear more about the school at its May meeting.
“That is my concern, being able to sustain this. And then, when we get to the point where we can’t sustain it, because we will get there, at that point what are we going to do?,” Stewart asked. “Cutting jobs? Nobody wants to do that.”
Board member David Turner shared similar concerns, citing federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) spending and a need to strike a balance between district needs and inflation.
“We are on the precipice of this being unsustainable, just with all of the ancillary spending,” he said, noting the requested adjustments to the salary schedule, requests for new positions, and the costs of building a new school.
The board requested a summary from Finance Director Kevin Ryan of its ESSER spending, including options to make the new school project and salary adjustments feasible.
The board decided to table the vote on the salary schedule until the report is reviewed at the next meeting in April.