The largest chunk of the $59.8 million that the Blaine County School District is seeking with its proposed plant facilities levy is for what the district calls "facility and energy and resource conservation measures."
The term refers to what the district has determined are needed repairs and improvements at some of its older schools, for development of alternative heating sources and for conservation of electricity and water.
The district projects it will need $28 million to meet those goals over the next 10 years.
District Business Manager Mike Chatterton said facility needs and improvements, earmarked in the levy proposal at $13.4 million, will have to be addressed whether the levy is approved or not.
He said repairs and improvements are especially critical at Bellevue, Hailey and Hemingway elementary schools and at the elementary school building at Carey School.
"All of those facilities are at least 40 years old and we knew that we were having issues with heating and venting systems that we had to address," Chatterton said. "For example, we've been patch-working Hailey Elementary's heating system for about two years."
Other repairs or improvements Chatterton said are needed at various schools include installation of new carpet and ceiling sprinkler systems for fire suppression and replacement of rusting doors or windows that don't fit tight. At Hemingway Elementary a covered walkway is needed to protect students and staff from ice and snow that builds up on the building and creates a safety hazard.
"We have systems that are deteriorating now that we need to address," Chatterton said. "If this levy does not pass, the money will have to come out of the instructional budget."
He said dipping into the instructional budget, which funds mainly classroom expenses and teacher salaries and benefits, would not be immediately necessary because the district has a $13 million "rainy day fund" that could be used to fund repairs. However, with current cuts and anticipated future cuts in state funding to the district, the rainy day fund isn't going to be there forever, Chatterton said.
"Just to maintain our current salary schedule and fringe benefits costs, that surplus will be absorbed in four years," he said. "That's when you'll get into those decisions about what programs will need to be eliminated to get into those other needs."
Study outlines needs
The school district arrived at its repair needs and energy and resource conservation estimates with an extensive study of facilities conducted earlier this year by the McKinstry engineering firm, headquartered in Seattle.
McKinstry made its recommendations in May to the district's Levy Committee, which considered the proposal and eliminated some options but overall approved the plan.
A major component of the McKinstry study, and an element in the proposed levy, is development of geothermal resources to heat most of the district's buildings.
Chatterton said that with the exception of Wood River Middle School, all the district's schools and the Community Campus can be heated with geothermal resources that exist beneath school district property.
"What you're doing is pulling it out of the ground, heating the schools and putting it right back in the ground," he said. "You're not actually using the water, you're just pulling the heat source out of it."
Chatterton said the district considered other alternative energies, such as solar, wind and biomass, but found geothermal to be the most economically feasible, in part because the federal government has allocated about $50 million in economic stimulus funds for geothermal resource development. The district has applied for a $5 million grant to help fund geothermal development.
"If you assume 6 percent annual inflation on utilities, over a 20-year period the savings to the district will be over $11.5 million," Chatterton said. "That's using the 6 percent. Mckinstry is saying inflation is going to be higher than that and that's a very conservation estimate."
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Levy election
Voters can cast their ballots on the Blaine County School District's proposed $59.8 million plant facilities levy from noon until 9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29. Voting will take place at Bellevue, Hailey, Hemingway and Woodside elementary schools and at Carey School. Absentee votes are being accepted until Oct. 28 at the school district office at 118 W. Bullion St. in Hailey from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact Board Clerk Laurie Kaufman at 578-5003 to have an absentee ballot mailed.
Howard Royal, Blaine County School District director of buildings and grounds, shows the aging heating system at Hailey Elementary School. The district considers replacement of the system a must, whether a proposed plant facilities levy is approved or not. Photo by David N. Seelig
