By Janae Fear, Staff Writer
Now that the Corunna Public Schools $16.5 million bond has been approved by voters, many are wondering what is next. The Corunna Public Schools Board of Education held a Committee of the Whole meeting, Tuesday, Nov. 10. to communicate just that. Supt. Dave Moore stated that “we have been and want to continue to be very transparent to our board and our community.”
Moore introduced the bond team, made up of an attorney, a financial advisor, an underwriter, an architect and a construction manager and outlined the process that will take place over the next few months which will result in bond funds being released to the district by March 2016 at the earliest.
While the district does have a list of projects they would like to complete, no plans have been finalized at this point as they chose to first focus time and energy on getting the bond proposal passed, according to Moore. The Nov. 3 election, along with a March 2016 release of funds means that the district will have missed most of the prime construction bidding season. While it is possible that some of the projects may be able to be completed in 2016, the bulk of the projects most likely won’t start until 2017.
Steve Salyers of Wolgast Corporation, the construction management firm the district has contracted with, said that waiting for the correct timing of the bid process will “allow the district to get the best value for the bond dollars.” Moore added that while he is anxious to get construction started, “I’d rather have it take longer and get it done right the first time.”
The administration also took time to recognize the A.C.E. (Advancing Corunna’s Education) group, a citizen committee formed with the goal of raising community awareness of the financial need within the district, for all of their efforts. The committee was led by Brian DeLorge, Mark Buckley, Scott TerMeer, Chris Rowe and Sara Beldyga.
