(CHADRON)-Quite a few needed projects are in the works at Chadron Public Schools this summer. Projects on the agenda include the drainage at the middle school, safer storage at the intermediate building, emergency lighting and primary gym and stage lighting as well as roof projects at the intermediate building, the middle school, and the high school east pods. There are also cracks and a pit to be filled in at the intermediate building among other things.

School superintendent Caroline Winchester says that the building and grounds committee has been working hard to prioritize which issues need fixed first as the schools have many areas of need. She says the main focus is on the items that are safety issues, such as the storage at the intermediate building and the malfunctioning emergency lighting. Another focus, she says, is on fixing items that are heavily utilized and will provide energy saving kickbacks, such as lighting. “Where we can get the most bang for our buck is upgrading the lighting in the gyms,” said Winchester. “You have to remember that in the primary, intermediate, and middle school buildings, your gym is also used as your cafeteria. And it’s used for your meetings, either after school programs or when you have parent meetings. You use those facilities, so it does behoove us to try and get that lighting upgraded and to save that energy cost.”

Winchester says funding is tight, but there are funds available that will pay for the summer projects. “All of that’s coming out of either general funds, special building funds or depreciation funds,” she said. “We’ve been working on a plan in the strategic planning meeting with building and grounds. We just have limited dollars, but obviously safety issues need to be taken care of as soon as we possibly can. And that’s also leaving some dollars in both the special building and the depreciation funds, because we need to keep some dollars back for emergencies.”

Business manager Kim Morrow said the schools’ expenditures versus their revenue are closer than they have been in several years.

 

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