Leaders of the school district in Spirit Lake are unveiling plans for an ambitious renovation project which they estimate would cost nearly $70-million.
Superintendent David Smith says the project would address aging infrastructure and long-standing maintenance needs.
“We have numerous areas where we need brand new HVAC,” Smith says. “We need new lights. We need new roof. We need new electrical, window and doors. We’re focused mainly on the elementary and in the high school.”
The plans also include improvements to the bus barn, though Smith says he’s recommended a proposed $13-million field house, or “athletic bubble,” be removed from the project list. He says the effort would be a major undertaking.
“We would have full new classrooms in numerous parts, basically, we would take down 50% of the elementary and about 50% of the high school and rebuild it from scratch,” Smith says. “We would move our Vo-Tech, which is not connected with our high school building. It basically needs to be knocked to the ground. It needs to be a complete overhaul.”
The plan was unveiled Wednesday after a community tour of both schools. The Spirit Lake School Board voted last night to move forward on a $69.9-million November bond referendum.
(By Ed Funston, KILR, Estherville)