The Thompson School District will receive a $5.2 million state grant toward the renovation of Conrad Ball Middle School with plans to consolidate it into a kindergarten through eighth-grade school.
The district has been discussing combining Monroe and Mary Blair elementary schools into the middle school, turning three schools that are well below capacity into one larger school and giving Conrad Ball a much-needed overhaul to fix the ailing and aging structure.
Todd Piccone, the district’s chief operations officer, told the school board on Wednesday that the district has been “fast-tracked” to receive the full $5.2 million Building Excellent Schools Today grant requested for the project.
With $13 million in funding from the district, the grant will allow a budget of $18.2 million to add new classrooms and a new gym, to upgrade the HVAC system and wiring and to undertake other improvements to update the school, which the Colorado Department of Education rated in one of the lowest conditions of schools in the state.
But first, the Thompson School District Board of Education must give its official approval. Board members have discussed the proposed project several times, including at Wednesday’s board meeting, and are scheduled to officially vote on the consolidation at the June 16 meeting.
Pam Howard, board member, lauded district staff for winning the BEST grant, its fourth in the past two years, and for creating a project to boost learning for students from all three involved schools.
“It’s going to make this new school just phenomenal for our students,” she said on Wednesday. “It’s really a win-win.”
All three schools have shown declining enrollment over the past eight years, and according to district figures are well below capacity. This year, Mary Blair is 43% full, Monroe in 44% full, and Conrad Ball is 52% full. Their combined enrollments have dropped from 1,353 in 2013 to 854 this year.
And with the facilities at Conrad Ball needing major upgrades, and the district having extra bond dollars that have to be spent on construction projects, Piccone, other district leadership and the Master Plan Committee have recommended the remodel and consolidation.
“It really is a full building overhaul,” said Piccone shortly after announcing that the district was notified that it will be approved for the BEST grant that will allow for $5.2 million more in upgrades.
Building Excellent Schools Today is a competitive grant program through the Colorado Department of Education that awards money to districts across the state for construction projects to improve health, safety and security for students. Districts can apply for a portion of the funding for a project, but also must pitch in matching money, to be awarded a grant.
The state BEST grant money comes from three sources — the Colorado Lottery, the Colorado State Land Board and an excise take on marijuana sales. Since 2008, the program has awarded $2.5 billion across 525 different districts, which compete against each other for the money.
“It’s a great reminder to the public, when you ask so where is the marijuana money, that’s what this grant is,” said Dawn Kirk, board member. “It’s amazing that you navigated the system to get one.”
The district’s $13 million share of the money will come from voter-approved bond money that has not been used and is not earmarked for other projects. The plan is to pay: $7 million out of contingency, which is money set aside for unexpected costs on other projects that did not arise; $1 million that was planned for roofing projects that ended up costing less than projected; $1.2 million out of a bond inflation fund, again money that was not needed for other projects; and $3.8 million in bond money that was already earmarked for maintenance projects at Conrad Ball, Monroe and Mary Blair.
This project, if approved, will not affect any other bond projects that were listed and planned when voters chose to allow the bond in 2018. Piccone stressed that all the projects promised to voters will still be completed, but the district has extra money that must be spent on facilities.
If approved on June 16, the district will begin the design process — including a committee formed to find out what students, staff and families from all three affected schools would like to see — in August. Construction would begin in summer of 2022, and the consolidated school would open in 2023.
Monroe and Mary Blair schools would close when the new school opens with their students attending the new K-8.
The district has not decided what they will do with the elementary school buildings.
