Updates in works for GHS, McAnally

Building improvements at Greencastle High School and McAnally Center will be the focus of a special session of the Greencastle School Board later this month.

Replacing single-pane windows, doors, and the heating and cooling system are among the projects to be presented at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10 at the Miller Education Center.

Supt. Robert Green told board members Jack Berry, Monica Fennell and Mike Dean he has contacted some architects who will present their proposals for consideration.

"We do know there are some items out there that need our attention," Green said.

He and maintenance director Dan Green have outlined every possible need for the aging facilities.

Supt. Green said he has also talked to a financial adviser about the project, and has been told that if the cost is kept at less than $3.5 million, it will not cause an increase in property taxes.

Board president Berry said the aging building does need some updates. He said he has heard reports of rooms that are too hot, too cold, too humid, and the single-pane windows are not efficient.

Green agreed that a lot of the building's heat goes out of the windows.

Improvements to the high school and McAnally have been a topic of discussion for that past few years. Most recently, the board attempted to cut the natural gas cost of heating the high school by the new technology of corn boilers.

However, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has delayed that project going online. Berry told the BannerGraphic the hang-up concerns the lack of regulations on emissions for the new alternative fuel technology. While the project was given initial approval, the school corporation is now being required to go through a permitting process before the boilers can be fired.

In the financial report, the board heard that the General Fund has a negative balance of $221,242.25 at the end of October. But that is better than a year ago, when there was a negative balance of $900,000. So the current situation is a significant improvement, Green said. When property tax revenue comes in later this fall, however, that account will be back on the positive side. The Debt Service Fund and Capital Projects Funds also have negative balances and will be back in the black after receiving state funds in December.

Meanwhile, the board approved an overnight field trip by the GHS student council to the state convention in Clarksville later this week, and accepted a donation of $1,000 from the Ridpath PTO to be used for teacher materials and supplies.

The Greencastle School Board regularly meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Miller Education Center, 522 Anderson St., Greencastle. The meetings are open to the public.