By Michael Howell
A “bond burning” ceremony was held on the lawn of Lone Rock School last Friday evening to celebrate the retirement of a 20-year bond that went to pay for the construction of the “92 Wing” back in 1992.
The “92 Wing” consists of eight classrooms and a lunchroom with an award winning lunch program.
Lone Rock School Superintendent David Cluff thought that he would shed a little starlight on what that 20-year effort achieved.
“It’s all about the students,” said Cluff. So he thought about all the students that had gone through school in the “92 Wing” over the last 20 years. He was looking for a way to honor all those individuals, to point out each and every one as an individual and he found it in the stars.
The idea was to plaster the ceiling and walls of the “92 Wing” with big golden stars with the name of each student emblazoned on one of them. It turned out to be a lot of stars, about 1,500. It had the students walking around with their heads craned up looking for their own name, the name of their friends, or even the name of some adults they know who once walked up and down these halls.
The Lone Rock School District Board of Trustees decided at its last meeting to turn around and ask the taxpayers to commit to another bond for another 20 years. The sum total payment over 20 years would be the same as the last bond. But the school district would get more bang for the buck due to lower interest rates. The “92 Wing” construction project was financed by a $634,000 bond at 7.6% interest over 20 years which comes to a total payment of $1,076,000. The proposed bond would be for $761,000 at 4 per cent over 20 years for the same grand total of $1,076,000. The money would be used to construct a new gymnasium.
The Board of Trustees has decided to place the issue on the June 5 ballot. The owner of a home valued at $100,000 would see an annual tax increase of $21.91. The owner of a house valued at $200,000 would see an increase $43.82.
Building a new physical education facility was identified as a high priority in the a series of town hall style meetings held over the winter of 2011. The current gym was built in 1972 for a capacity of 125 students. Since then the student population has reached 300. Besides physical education classes, the gym is used for 70 other school and community events.
The board engaged the services of Gavin-hanks Architecture Studio in Missoula to produce a set of drawings and renditions of a potential structure. It includes an entry vestibule and lobby, concession area, physical education office, girls and boys locker rooms and bathrooms, a janitor’s closet, a plumbing room, storage area and a full gymnasium with bleachers.
These preliminary designs may be viewed at the school. Two public meetings are also scheduled at which the public may join the board to discuss the bond issue: Monday, March 5 and Tuesday, March 13 at the Lone Rock Gym at 7 p.m. For more information call David Cluff at 777-3314, ext. 202.