Wish List Reviewed for Possible School Bond
The GCISD board reviewed a 2005-’06 “wish list” at their regular meeting Nov. 14, with Kevin Hirt absent. The list, compiled by school faculty and staff with a possible bond issue in mind, is incomplete, and School Superintendent Steve Long says the list is just a place to begin planning for future needs. Long indicated that he wants the list to be circulated through the county, and hopes everyone with an interest will have input in the matter.
The board will learn more about bond financing at its next meeting, which has been rescheduled for 8 a.m., Dec.12. The public is welcome.
Items on the wish list, in no particular order were Maintenance: replace carpet in elementary school, replace ceiling tiles, replace heating and cooling units, repair storage room in elementary wing, replace all bathroom stalls, replace ceramic tile in bathrooms, replace torn carpet in high school classrooms, remodel cafeteria, redo plumbing in the game gym, replace football press box, drop ceiling in workout room, new lighting and air conditioning in workout room, redo insulation in bus barn, remodel or replace vocational building, pave around bus barn and home football stands, replace water well sheds, install drip system for school grounds, redo roofs on elementary, high school and complex, install lighting on practice field and track, lockers in high school, replace lighting and sound system in auditorium, choir risers for elementary school, cabinets in high school classrooms, remodel bathrooms, new practice gym, furniture in library, press box and concession between track and tennis courts, paving for high school parking, three school houses, air conditioning and sound system in gym, lower ceilings in high school, scoreboard for football field, purchase land across from administration building, shade area and picnic tables by tennis courts, enlarge first and third grade rooms, redo water fountains in elementary and high schools, elementary science lab, cabinets/storage with sinks in elementary school. Ice machine in elementary, update high school lab (cabinets, storage, chemicals, chemical disposal), redo planters in front of library.
Transportation: buy a second activity bus, update one school car, two grasshopper mowers, two Gators, three route buses, new maintenance pickup truck, new ag pickup truck, attachment forks for tractor, heavy disk for tractor, buy a second Suburban. Technology: projectors mounted in classrooms, camera/server for web page, three traveling printers, smartboards, laptops for teachers in classrooms, computer for video editing, black/white and color printer for yearbook, bell system with classroom clocks, updated TV’s/ DVD’s, scanners, overhaul of library accounting system (Athena upgrade), laser printers, update computers. Miscellaneous: veggie steamer, stand-up freezer, band uniforms and instruments, furniture/books/maps for library, Lego robotics kits, eight welding machines, one Bobcat gas-powered welder, cold cut saw, an iron work machine, and a pipe-bending machine.
Those with suggested modifications or additions to the wish list, should call Long at 354-2230, or call a school board member.
The board accepted the 2005 audit report, as presented by Tracy Tarter, CPA. Tarter was complimentary to GCISD’s board and administration for being fiscally responsible, even in the face of falling enrollment. He said the administration has been very careful with its resources, and is in unusually good financial shape.
The district currently has a fund balance (reserves) of just over $3 million, which Tarter said is “…strong for a district this size, and way more than the three to six month’s operating expenses the state wants a district to have.”
Tarter singled out the school cafeteria for praise, saying this year’s $51,000 loss is a vast improvement from what was generally a $100,000 annual loss only a few years ago.
Board member Karl Hoelscher passed on compliments regarding the behavior and good manners of GCISD kids recently traveling as group. He said teachers, coaches, and administration, as well as kids, were to be commended.