T-R PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER The entrance to GMG’s 1925 building in Garwin pictured earlier this summer. The building, which houses mostly high school classroom space, would be replaced beginning in the summer of 2026 if the district were successful in passing a bond referendum this November. The GMG school board is still exploring the possibility of putting a bond referendum to the district’s voters and is hosting two informational meetings as part of that process – the first on July 30 and the second on Aug. 8. Both meetings will take place in Garwin and feature the same information and format including a building tour.

GARWIN — The Green Mountain-Garwin Community School District will host two community informational meetings as part of a possible November 2024 school bond referendum.

The first meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 30, at the GMG Secondary building in the upper gym in Garwin, while the second meeting is set for Thursday, August 8, in the lower gym. Both sessions will begin at 7 p.m.

According to GMG Superintendent Chris Petersen, the public meetings will include the same short presentation followed by a building tour.

Bond referendum

process continues to gain steam

During a special meeting of the GMG Board of Education held on the morning of July 16 at the secondary building, board members sat through a presentation by the design-build firm SitelogIQ regarding the scope and cost of a possible bond referendum for facilities upgrades.

For the past several months, board members have been working with SitelogIQ as part of their decision to pursue (or not) a bond referendum this fall – a referendum that would ask voters to approve using general obligation bond (G.O.) proceeds to replace the district’s nearly century-old secondary building in Garwin.

School business official/board secretary Betsy Spaur wrote in the July 16 official board minutes regarding SitelogIQ’s latest presentation: “There are many unknowns like potential cracks in the foundation that could cost a lot more money. We would be losing educational space with restroom expansion, the stairwells are non compliant, and the goal is to move to 21st century learning environments. At the end of the day we still have a 100 year old building.

“The Design Process for new construction, if passed, will work with staff to create details of spaces,” Spaur continued. “Jeff [Herzberg with SitelogIQ] presented a map of what the addition will/could look like. Demolition of the 1925 building cannot be included in the referendum funds, but would be paid for with other funding sources like PPEL/SAVE/Cash.”

Spaur further wrote the construction timeline – if passed by a supermajority of voters this November – would begin in earnest following Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024). In July of 2025, the design process would be “in full swing” with the district bidding for equipment/labor around fall/winter 2025.

Construction would then begin in the spring/summer of 2026.