In an attempt to stay ahead of the game and make sure school buildings are fit and safe in years to come, or in the event new construction may be needed, the Clinton County Board of Education has voted to amend its school facilities plan to prepare for the future needs and renovations of its existing buildings.

The board voted this past Monday night to amend the plan after hearing a presentation during its work session last Thursday evening, January 14 from Kevin Cheek with Sherman Carter Berhart Architects, which will be conducted the thorough facilities study and making recommendations of what renovations that buildings may need.

The firm will study three of the districts facilities, Clinton County High School, Clinton County Middle School and Clinton County Area Technology Center. Also, the HVAC system at Albany Elementary may also be a target of future repairs or replacement, according to discussion at the work session.

Superintendent Charlotte Bernard, in recommending the plan being updated, said the district needed a plan that would help anticipate costs and find ways to fund necessary projects in three, five or seven years down the road. She also noted that some of the existing buildings were “close” to reaching their life expectancy.

The board was originally scheduled to take action on the matter at Monday night’s regular business meeting but tabled the issue to give newest board member Crystal Irwin, who was serving on the board for her first meeting, to get better acquainted with the workings of the plan.

Cheek told the board during his presentation that his firm would need and gather accurate information about all the facilities, including in areas of physical characteristics, security, roofing, which he stressed was important to any building, interior weaknesses and all other aspects, including exterior items such as drainage and so forth.

The engineering firm will do a complete walk-through and inspection of each building, room by room, complete an assessment, eventual cost estimate and present all the findings to the school board. Most of that will be done, he noted, during non-school hours.

The facilities plan will also include input from staff, administrators, and custodians who are familiar with the buildings.

The cost of the study, at the required five cents per square foot evaluation, will cost approximately $10,861. However, Superintendent Bernard said there is currently a set aside fund the district has on had of around $21,000 that is not being used that could be utilized, with Kentucky Department of Education approval, to fund the architectural evaluations.

Bernard also noted that the most recent update, which cost the district about $8,000 and conducted by former school district architects, didn’t bring forth much results and was not as thorough as the one being planned by the new architects.

Cheek said his architectural firm dealt primarily in education, in other words mostly school buildings and facilities and is on the Kentucky Department of Education’s list of recommended architectural firms.

By amending the current facilities plan, it will mean the district’s Facilities Planning Committee will not have to reconvene and save time for the process to take place.

Cheek estimated the entire process would take a little over a month, including the visual site visits, paperwork and compiling the study in hard copy to be presented to the board. Also, the board will be kept updated at their meetings on the process.

Also, in obtaining more possible funding for school buildings and renovations, the board took action at its regular meeting four days later to accept an offer of assistance in the amount of $30,493 from the School Facilities Construction Commission (SFCC), which now brings the total amount in that fund to over $76,000.

Finance Director Mike Reeves also noted the importance of having the school Facilities Plan kept up-to-date when it comes to the state approving funding for any facilities project.

Reeves indicated a district’s plan had to be up to date before the Department of Education would consider approving a project and also noted that they only funding projects that are in the priority one or two categories. By having the plan in place with the needs for each facility prioritized, the better chances of having that project approved.

The district can leverage state funds and bonding capacity to help do any major renovation and/or school facilities improvement project or addition.

During the work session, the board also previewed the coming fiscal year draft budget with finance director Mike Reeves.

The budget is similar to the current year and isn’t expected to change much in totals by the time a tenative budget is approved in May and the final working budget in early fall.

The projected budget is $14.4 million and includes all budgets and payroll. Some of the items in the budget come from the state and are pass through type receipts and expenditures. Also, SEEK funding has again been reduced by the state by about $80,000 this budget year.

Reeves did note that the school district is “growing” which is a positive thing for the district, as the student population continues to rise and at Clinton County High School, is expected to reach close to 530 students for the 2016-17 school year.

(Details of the school board’s regular business meeting, as well as an article on new board member Crystal Irwin can be found beginning on page 1.)