EG Board Makes More Sharing Decisions

PHASE-OUT OF RIPPEY BUILDING BEGINS IN FALL

The future of education in eastern Greene County looked a little clearer after adjournment of the East Greene school board meeting Wednesday night.

The board moved forward on the remodeling of the Grand Junction building, transforming it from an under-used 6-12 facility to a fully-functioning pre kindergarten-fourth grade elementary facility for the East Greene district and an intermediate school for fifth and sixth grade students from both East Greene and Jefferson-Scranton districts.

As part of the transition process, the board dealt with the difficult task of closing the Rippey building.
 
Rippey resident Ned Johnston asked that the board be respectful of the wishes of the Rippey community in not letting the building become an abandoned eyesore as the district moves forward with plans to phase out the facility. Johnston made note of the situation with the former school building in Bagley, which was sold to a private owner but it is now in a state of serious disrepair. Estimated costs now to raze the Bagley building are between$50,000 and $75,000.

Johnston also asked the board of the long-term viability of the Grand Junction building, considering the price tag for remodeling is $2 million. President Marc Hoffman had just explained that the decision-making process of the board is to lead the East Greene district into reorganization with Jefferson-Scranton, forming a new Greene County Community School District. Johnston noted that a consultant hired by the boards to advise them on whole grade sharing and then possible reorganization alluded to the possible future construction of a new middle school (grades 5-8) to be built in Jefferson.

Superintendent Mike Harter said at this time a bond issue election to build such a school in Jefferson is not likely in the foreseeable future. He also explained that the bonds issued to pay for the remodeling project in the Grand Junction building are for 20 years, but the funding is actually from the district’s share of the local options sales tax (LOST), which is money that goes from a statewide pool of collected sales taxes back to each public school district in the state.

Johnston urged the board to include money in the district budget to provide for the costs of razing the Rippey building. The board assured him that would be the case.

Board member David Tipton suggested the district keep its options open for this fall in case the remodeling project in Grand Junction is not complete and the Rippey space will be needed. Tipton also expressed doubt that all the students will fit in the Grand Junction building. The estimated number of students using the building for next school year is between 275 and 300.

The Rippey building’s gymnasium will be used for the final year of East Greene high school athletics and possibly for junior high games for what becomes Greene County Middle School in Jefferson this fall. A recent joint board meeting between East Greene and Jefferson-Scranton indicated interest from the Jefferson-Scranton board to schedule games away from the Greene County Community Center in Jefferson as it takes away from the community use of the facility, and gymnasiums will be available in Scranton and Rippey.

Jefferson-Scranton uses one gymnasium for its high school and middle school, the facility adjacent to the middle school building at South Vine and Monroe streets. The gym as the high school is a practice facility only. So many middle school and high school junior varsity games are played in the community center’s gym, as it is across the street from the middle school.

In another twist on the sport sharing, however, the board voted to cease offering a separate girls high school sports program for East Greene effective with the start of softball in May. The board also rescinded a vote on sharing all middle school sports beginning this softball-baseball season, and voted this time to keep East Greene junior high baseball for boys this summer in Rippey but proceed with the junior high softball sharing, effective at the start of the season in May.

Then the board officially voted to end offering a separate East Greene sports program for high school boys after completion of next year’s baseball season, 2012-13. The fall season that begins the 2013-14 school year will see combined East Greene and Jefferson-Scranton boys sports teams competing as Greene County.

However, decisions on a team nickname and school colors for a combined EG-JS for 2013-14 have not been decided. As for next year, 2012-13, with the high school girls sharing with JS, but boys being separate, it appears that all junior high teams and girls varsity will compete as Jefferson-Scranton, unless the two board make an official decision to call the teams Jefferson-Scranton/East Greene (or vice versa) or to go forward with the middle school sports teams reflecting the name of the school building, Greene County Middle School.

The wrestling program offered at J-S the last several seasons has included members form East Greene and Paton-Churdan and competed as JSPCEG. J-S and Paton-Churdan have shared football for many years as JSPC.

Business director Shawn Angell reviewed with the board some of the documentation needed for the board to proceed working with Piper Jaffray in issuing the bonds to finance the remodeling project.

The board also reviewed the 2012-13 budget before setting a date for the annual public hearing for April 11 as part of the regular meeting.

In other business, the board:
*Approved provisional school drivers’ licenses for Karlan Langfitt, Dylan Lansman and Max Neese.
*Reviewed the open enrollment follow-up survey process. Several years ago the district began offering survey to the parents of students who open enrolled out of the district.
*Set a joint board meeting with Jefferson-Scranton for Wednesday, March 28, at 6:30 p.m. in the Grand Junction building.