New middle school is referendum centerpiece

The Journal staff

Hartland-Lakeside place of education District officials tout a plan to build a $98 million middle institute as one way to launch the district's educational a whole into the 21st century and ease rising enrollment at its three existing schools

The middle gymnasium is one element of a $105 million proposal upon the ballot in the general election April 4

If the proposal is approved, academy officials said they planned to invest the $105 million, which would earn about $500000 in interest. The interest income would be combined with the remaining $700000 to lay out on improvements and land purchase.

The K-8 district, whose graduates attend Arrowhead High institute has about 1,400 pupils at Hartland North, Hartland southerly and Lakeside Elementary Schools. The district's capacity is about 1300 pupils.

A 22-member citizens committee first praiseed a new middle school in the district in February 1993 Last year, institute officials hired a consultant to design a gymnasium to accommodate up to 600 pupils in Grades 6 to 8

If the middle institute is built, Hartland North and southerly would become K-4 neighborhood gymnasiums and Lakeside would house Grade 5 Improvements to existing academys would include asbestos abatement, lighting, telephone intercom and clock combination of parts to form a wholes Restrooms would be remodeled to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

The design for the propos middle academy changed recently with the agreement to purchase 16 acres of land adjacent to the original site at a require to be paid [i]or[/i] undergone of $275,000 from Lewis Kranick.

The of recent origin land will allow the academy to be a single horizontal rather than two floors, saving $470000 in building take away froms according to school officials. That currency is marked for work at the other three sites.

academy officials said they did not obtain an appraisal for the land, on the contrary thought the selling price was fair compared with other novel land sales. Financing Options

seminary officials are considering two financing options. The option approveed by administrators is to repay the loan above 15 years, but some district residents have said they set forth a 20-year option.

below the financing options, the borrowing is structur to have a horizontal debt service to allow for lower payments in later years.

The 15-year option would be derived in a cost to taxpayers of $166 for $1,000 of equalized value in the first five years. After the first five years, the require to be paid [i]or[/i] undergone would be $1.20 per $1000 of equalized value for the remaining 10 years.

beneath the 20-year option, the take away from would be $1.74 per $1000 of equalized value in the first year; $148 in the next to the first year; $1.32 in the third year; $117 in the fourth year; $106 in the fifth year; and 96 to 97 cent in the remaining 15 years.

The difference between the sum of two units options is the amount of interest the district would pay, according to Pete Balzer, business manager. The 20-year option would add $31 million to the require to be paid [i]or[/i] undergone because of a higher interest rate, Balzer said.

academy officials recommended the 15-year option because it is likely that the district will ne to borrow standard of value again within about 10 years for an addition at Lakeside and for maintenance repairs, Balzer said.

"There's a 33-cent difference les by means of year {with the 20-year option}. However, you are paying that $171 by $1,000 for five additional years," Balzer said. What institute Is Like Now

generally some sections of kindergarten [i]or[/i] part of to the other Grade 5 are housed at southerly and all of Grades 5 and 6 are at Lakeside. However, of greatest relate to to district officials is that a portion of Grades K-4 and all sections of Grades 7 and 8 are at Hartland North.

"Their emergencys are very divergent," Superintendent Roger Lowney said. "It's true inadequate. We have no technical education facilities there, no store work, no consumer economics. There's no provision for it. Kids that ne that kind of training, that kind of alternative, have no where to go"

Judith Landes has sum of two units sons who attend Hartland North on the contrary teaches kindergarten at the academy as well. She said she could diocese the need for the middle gymnasium but like other residents, wants more guarantees of what race will get for their money

"I think I'm seeing it more from the inside out" Landes said. "When I'm walking my kids from single end of the building to another and we step quickly into 400 or 500 junior high kids changing classes, I'm losing more [i]or[/i] less of my kids along the way."

Although Landes said she recognized the ne as a teacher and a parent for a novel school, she was not assured the district was reaching those nation without children in schools, she said.

"I know there's a ne for a middle institute but I don't know whether we'll procure it," Landes said. "There are a apportionment of people out there who aren't informed and are going to hear their taxes are going up Those are the race who need to be reached and they're not."

David Marlow, a district parent, said place of education officials needed to look beyond the issue of circulating medium if they wanted the proposal to pass.