A mechanical engineer was at the New Bloomfield R-III School District this week to assess its facilities.
Superintendent David Tramel contacted an engineer to get an unbiased opinion on the district's facilities and what repairs may be needed. The district is considering a no-tax-increase bond issue in the spring to fund facility repairs.
The school district formed a committee in August to prioritize a list of potential facility repairs. After Tramel hears back from the engineer, the New Bloomfield Board of Education will decide if it wants to bundle potential repairs and put a bond issue on the spring ballot. If they decide to pursue the bond issue, the board would have to submit ballot language for it in January.
Tramel said the district needs to assess how critical potential repairs are and what is best financially for the district. At Thursday night's board of education meeting, he told the board the engineer could help with that decision. Tramel had previously spoken with various firms about potential repairs. But he felt the firms, who would be selling the district a product, had the potential to give the district a biased opinion on how necessary certain repairs are for the facilities.
"We're not cynical we are practical," Tramel said. "Every one of them gave us a solution to solve our problem and it was largely based on what they were selling."
The engineer, Tramel said, could provide a more neutral assessment of the district's facilities and what repairs are necessary.
"I feel really good about getting a more neutral, third-party glimpse at where we are as a district physically," Tramel said.
The district sets aside money for repairs each year. Tramel previously told the Fulton Sun that in a normal summer the district spends anywhere between $50,000 and $125,000 on stand-alone summer projects.
But the repairs the district is having assessed currently are items that will cost more than the district's usual repair budget. The list of potential projects includes heating and cooling systems, roofs, replacing some older windows for energy efficiency and parking lot repairs. Those types of projects, Tramel said, can be costly.
At previous board of education meetings, Tramel said it makes sense for the school district to consider the bond issue now because bonds have low interest rates now and contractors have competitive bids in the market. However, he added that it doesn't make sense to replace items that do not need replacing.
Tramel told the board Thursday night that he hopes to hear back from the engineer in the next few days.