CAMBRIA — An ad hoc committee formed to develop building and maintenance priorities met Thursday to review the needs of the Cambria-Friesland School District.
The school board asked the committee to meet again as the district prepares to ask voters to pass a building maintenance referendum during the spring election.
New superintendent Gary Reineck joined the committee, which looked at the district’s building maintenance needs, said that the school needs restrooms that are more accessible.
School board member John Heil, chair of the ad hoc committee, said that the issue he hears the most complaints about is “stink” in the school’s restrooms.
Building maintenance supervisor Brad DeYoung said part of the “stink” problem is that steam tunnels used to heat the building run directly under the restrooms near the high school office.
The committee came up with five more building and ground maintenance issues, including lighting, problems with the brick exterior on the north end of the school, a bus garage, and a transformer and water sprinkler system for the football field.
Reineck said that maintaining the grass on the football field takes a lot of work.
“We keep crossing our fingers that it will rain,” DeYoung said.
Other building maintenance needs include the roof, the heating and air conditioning system, the electrical system, replacing windows and doors, repairing the parking lots, building security and computer and network upgrades.
The committee discussed the district’s bonding options. The current debt owed by the Cambria-Friesland School District for its elementary school addition will retire in 2010 and the new bond could be scheduled with the same repayment amount.
“I think this is a really good plan,” Reineck said. “I think this could put us in the position to have some choices. If we don’t take care of this building, we will be out of business.”
Reineck said that the Cambria-Friesland School District about breaks even through open enrollment with students coming in to the district and opting to attend elsewhere.
“If we let our building go, it wont’ be long before the students go,” he said.
One portion of the school’s roof has already been replaced, using money from the district’s fund balance. If the referendum passes, the money for the repair will be returned to the fund balance.
The school district originally planned to take the issue to voters in September, but the economy and a change in the school’s administration delayed it. The committee approved its new priority list and additions and it will be presented to the board at its regular November board meeting for further action.
alutey@ capitalnewspapers.com