Great opportunity

Dear Editor,

I would like to express my thoughts about a great opportunity that is being presented to the voters of McCook. This opportunity will have a long lasting effect on the education of our children, on our district and on the future of McCook.

Tuesday, the registered voters of this district will have the opportunity to approve one of the biggest changes to McCook's educational system. You, the voters, are being asked to permit the board of education to issue bonds in the amount of $5.8 million to renovate the North Ward Elementary facility.

The most important feature of this project is the educational benefits that will come from having all of our students, pre-school through 3rd  grade, attend school in one location.

As a member of the current board of education and a member of the facility committee that has been working on this issue for what seems like years and years and years. I would like to address some misconceptions about this project.

The amount of bond will not and cannot exceed the $5.8 million. Sampson Construction has been hired as the Construction Manager at Risk. "At risk," meaning that they, Sampson Construction, have guaranteed the board of education and you, the members of this district, that this project will not exceed $5.8 million dollars. Any amount above that figure will be paid by Sampson Construction.

The funds raised from the issuing of bonds will be used "for the purpose of constructing at the North Ward Elementary site, additions and renovations of the existing school facility."

The most important sentence that we need to clarify reads: (or if determined appropriate by the Board of Education, constructing a new building as a replacement).

During discussions with the companies that had submitted bids for the construction manager position there was a concern about the status and confinement of any asbestos that might be present at the North Ward site. If the asbestos proved too costly to contain or remove, it could literally bankrupt this project.

After being selected as construction manager, Sam-pson Construction sent one of its employees to investigate the asbestos situation.

After physically examining the facility, we have been assured by them and by Dave Wilson who did the asbestos abatement study that there will not be a problem with asbestos at North Ward.

The plan is now, as it was before that sentence was added: To renovate the existing building with additional classrooms.

The facility committee of the board of education has spent many months if not years holding meetings with parents, teachers and administrators on what they felt were the most important issues concerning our elementary facilities. At the same time, we had to be sensitive to what was happening in districts adjoining us and what was happening in the Nebraska Legislation. We also had to consider what has been happening with state aid and take into account how teaching methods have changed and try to predict how they will be changing. Once the North Ward renovation is complete, this facility will have to support educational trends for the next 50 to 80 years.

During this process, a study was presented to the board of education on Monday, April 28, 2003, giving us options in renovating both North and East Ward. This study had a price tag of $2.43 million price tag. This study did not resolve concerns that had been brought to attention through the meetings that we had conducted with the before mentioned groups.

Mr. Wilson was asked to take his study and see if he could resolve their concerns, which included: address the parking and traffic flow problems that now exist at both sites. Although their was an elevator and a stairwell included in the study we were concerned about an external escape plan for those students that could be strained on the south side of East Ward in the event of an emergency. Dave was asked to project the cost to replace the modular classroom at the North Ward site, which had been controversial.

Their were many safety issues at the East Ward site that had not been resolved. Their were problems with security at both sites that had not been resolved. We asked Dave to include kitchen areas in both sites that would improve our food service program. We also asked Dave to consider additional space in the event that our enrollment would increase due to everything that has been happening in schools surrounding McCook.

As Dave worked to resolve our concerns, he came up with the plan that is being presented to you, the voters. This plan not only addresses ours concerns, but also the concerns of those parents and teachers that took the time to share their ideas with us. We, as your elected representatives, have presented a plan to you that we feel is complete. A plan that will not require this, or a future board of education, to come back to you and ask for money to fix problems that could have and should be fixed now.

While our educational delivery systems have progressed, our elementary buildings have become inadequate.

It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child. If that statement is true, then it is the responsibility of each member of this District to provide our children with a quality education in a safe environment.

Please join me in voting "Yes" on Tuesday, vote "Yes" for our children and their future.

Mike Gonzales

McCook

P.S. Be careful -- not every frog that you kiss will turn into a prince.