Arapahoe ready to roll out plans for school bond issue

ARAPAHOE, Neb. -- With less than a month to go before students in the Golden Plains head back to school, the Arapahoe-Holbrook school system is capturing the biggest headlines as the board of education there prepares to roll out plans for a more than $10 million school building bond issue.

Two propositions will be on the ballot, possibly as early as this September, according to Superintendent of Schools George Griffith. The big one would be for $10,580,000 to bring the school buildings up to code, and the other proposition would be supplemental, for an amount estimated at $2.85 million. If you live in the Arapahoe and Holbcrook area, keep your eyes and ears wide open, as this historic vote is rapidly approaching.

In other school news in the Golden Plains, superintendents, principals and clerks shared the following back-to-school and summer project news with the Gazette reporter.

ATWOOD-RAWLINS COUNTY -- All students in Rawlins County School District 106 -- from kindergarten through 12th grade -- will begin the 2016-2017 school year on Monday, Aug. 22, according to school clerk Kristy Miller.

CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS -- Wednesday, Aug. 17, will be the first day of school for all students, K through 12, in Cambridge, said Marisa Burke of the Cambridge school office. The summer was a busy time for the Cambridge schools, with new carpet installed and new goalposts erected for the football field, which was converted from 11-man to 8-man size because of a historic change by Cambridge schools to the 8-man competitive level.

CHEYLIN SCHOOL DISTRICT -- School starts Tuesday, Aug. 16, at the Cheylin school in Bird City. During the summer, one of the main projects at the Cheylin schools was replacing the floor in the gymnasium in Bird City.

CHASE COUNTY SCHOOLS -- A new scrolling sign has been installed across the street south from the main school building in Imperial. The active Chase County School District remains on the move, with plans nearing completion for a gym and wrestling building. The start of school is less than a month away, with classes in Imperial set to begin on Wednesday, Aug. 24.

DECATUR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS -- Unified School District 107 of Decatur County finally finished the long-lasting lighting project, with Superintendent Duane Dorshorst reporting that the four-year project was completed this past summer. Decatur Community Junior-Senior High School and Oberlin Elementary School are now ready to go, with classes for kindergarten through seniors starting Wednesday, Aug. 17.

DUNDY COUNTY-STRATTON SCHOOLS -- The Dundy County-Stratton School District's new business manager, Stacey Waters, says that one of the biggest projects for the Dundy County-Stratton schools this summer was replacing the siding above the bricks at Benkelman Elementary School. In addition, Waters said, the school district had new windows installed in the gymnasium at the high school in Benkelman and the district did bathroom remodeling and made plumbing improvements at the elementary school in Stratton. Classes will begin Tuesday, Aug. 16 in the Dundy County-Stratton schools.

HAYES COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM -- The much-used Hayes County School System greenhouse has been re-located, with more space devoted to the new greenhouse at the high school, according to Principal Tony Primavera. The 20-foot by 42-foot greenhouse is made of Lexcan Thermoclear Carbonate and has a gas-fired heater and two cool-air exhaust fans. The greenhouse is used extensively by the FFA students at the Hayes County school. All students in the Hayes County school system -- kindergarten through 12th grade -- will start the 2016-2017 school year Thursday, Aug. 18, with a full day of classes.

HITCHCOCK COUNTY SCHOOLS -- Hitchcock County School's new superintendent, Robert Sattler, who came to this area from Oakley, Kansas, is finishing up summer preparations and moving forward on plans to have a new storage building erected for the schools near the running track. Otherwise, the Hitchcock schools are ready for the 2016-2017 term, with Tuesday, Aug. 16, scheduled as the first day of classes.

McCOOK PUBLIC SCHOOLS -- A complete remodel of the front entrance area at McCook High School highlighted the summer projects for School District 17. Not only did this upgrade the outward appearance of the school, it also re-positioned the office spaces inside for the counselor, the school nurse, the activities director and the principal, according to Superintendent Grant Norgaard. The start of school for the McCook public system is three and a half weeks away, with kindergarten through ninth grade classes beginning Wednesay, Aug. 17, and the sophomore, junior and senior year classes at the high school starting Thursday, Aug. 18.

MAYWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS -- The Maywood Public Schools replaced the gymnasium floor during the summer and moved forward on the transportation front, ordering the acquisition of two new buses. Jason Brown, the K-12 principal, said the system is poised for the start of classes, which officially begin on Wednesday, Aug. 17th.

MEDICINE VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT -- The Medicine Valley school system will launch the 2016-2017 school term with the opening of classes on Thursday, Aug. 18, said Alan Garey, the school principal.

ST. FRANCIS, CHEYENNE COUNTY SCHOOLS -- Traci Neitzel, the school district clerk, said the Cheyenne County schools in St, Francis will get under way on Wednesday, Aug. 17.

ST. PATRICK's SCHOOL-McCOOK -- Getting ready for the start of school, St. Patrick's School of McCook will host Back-to-School Night on Wednesday, Aug. 17, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The event will be at the school, located at 401 East F Street, Classes at St. Patrick's School will begin the next day, Thursday, Aug. 18. There will be an early dismissal the first day, with the students' day ending at 1 p.m., according to the St. Pat's principal, Rebecca Redl.

SOUTHERN VALLEY SCHOOLS -- The cost of things are sky-rocketing as shown by the replacement of the roof of the high school building for the Southern Valley schools, said the Superintendent, Darren Tobey. The cost for the work, done this summer, was $850,000. The project was done in time for the start of school in the Oxford-Beaver City-Edison area. "We will be starting classes Tuesday, Aug. 16th," the superintendent said.

SOUTHWEST PUBLIC SCHOOLS -- Concrete paving on the west side of the elementary school in Indianola was one of the main projects for the Southwest School District this summer. With that work completed, the elementary school in Indianola and the junior-senior high school in Bartley are getting ready for the start of classes, which in the Southwest district, is set for Thursday, Aug. 18.