The Aplington-Parkersburg School Board is hoping to collect signatures to have a bond vote in November.
Superintendent Travis Fleshner says the goal is to make significant upgrades to the Aplington campus and add space to the high school.
“The proposal that was brought to the board is really just a remodel/refresh of the Aplington building,” Fleshner says. “HVAC and roofs is kind of some things we’ve talked about. Might not be as exciting and as shiny as maybe some people like to see, but obviously they’re pretty important that we have them in place. That’s probably the biggest piece in Aplington. And then in Parkersburg at the high school, looking to put on a career and tech ed, CTE addition that would really kind of help expand our industrial tech and ag education spaces. We’re already kind of maxing those out a little bit. And then look to reconfigure the current ag and industrial tech spaces to kind of potentially support seventh and eighth grade students, you know, if we opt to move them to the high school.”
The scope of the project was determined after meetings by the facilities task force and receiving community input.
Fleshner says a petition signature represents a desire for residents to vote on the project, rather than being in favor of the project.
“It’ll have the petition language of the scope of the project. The estimated project cost right now is about $16.5 million. And really what it does is it triggers an opportunity so the school board can see that there’s an interest in them acting on this project. We’ll be circulating it with information to get signatures collected that’ll be brought back to the school board. I think it’s really important also to note by signing this petition, it doesn’t mean you’re a yes voter or a no voter. Really what you’re signifying is, yes, I think the school board should look at this project and then allow the voters to vote on it.”
The board will work to collect signatures throughout July and act on the topic at an upcoming meeting.
