Schools
Raft of Renovations Nearly Complete at Bayless
Upgrades to the district's facilities provided by Proposition O, a $4.3 million bond passed by voters in 2008.
A host of building renovations and safety improvements more than two years in the making is nearly complete at the Bayless School District.
The work is the result of Proposition O, passed in 2008 as a zero-tax-increase bond, which provided $4.3 million to modernize electrical and plumbing infrastructure; install a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system; implement traffic safety improvements; and provide increased classroom and office space. The bond issue tackled four of eight recommendations made by the Bayless Student Task Force, a 60-person community advisory committee.
Buildings and Grounds Director Jeff Timeus said the only remaining project is a loop drive behind the district’s primary school buildings that will serve as pick up/drop off area. Timeus said the complex job was started when the school year ended this spring and is now “95 percent complete.” He expects to open the driveway to traffic in early November.
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“It will relieve traffic from being on the county roadways and will be a safer situation for our pick up and drop off. … I think it’s going to be huge in terms of safety,” Timeus said.
Another much-needed improvement, the new HVAC, will provide relief to teachers and students in the form of climate-controlled classrooms. Timeus said previously many parts of the intermediate and junior high school buildings lacked air conditioning.
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“I am glad to see that all of our buildings are air conditioned. We can now use them for our summer school programs,” he said.
Despite the expenditures, Timeus said the district still has many building needs. He said specific recommendations for future capital priorities would be developed with input from community.
However, funds for such improvements could be hard to find. The Bayless School District is currently struggling with falling property values and cuts at the state level that . In May, School Board President Jeff Presaick proposed asking district residents for a new tax levy, which is tentatively set to come before voters in November 2012.