GCSC considers 'just-right' location for possible new administration building

Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Greencastle Middle School sits in the distance, across the street from what the Greencastle Community School Corporation hopes will eventually become the district's new administration building. (Photo by KYLE HOLLINGER)

Not too small, not too large, but just right. The Greencastle Community School Corporation (GCSC) has expressed interest in a local building that matches the exact specifications of what it would need to find a new home for its administrative offices.

"It seems like a pretty obvious solution to our problem here," superintendent Dawn Puckett said Monday night.

When the conversation about finding a new location for the administration offices began, the school board "had a list of requirements" that leaned toward building a new facility as an existing structure meeting all of the corporation's needs seemed unlikely.

The building is just over 10,000 square feet, houses 16 offices, a computer repair room, several conference areas, a heated warehouse for storage, ample parking and an existing technology infrastructure, among other features, in a two-story building that sits on a 1.29-acre lot that is already zoned properly for administration use, eliminating any needs for variances.

"Quite honestly, we sat and made a list of everything we needed long before this property became available and everything on the list is met by this property," Puckett explained.

"It's very reasonably priced for what we get out of it. I can't imagine any other entity that could benefit from the location and the actual design of the building and the extensive technology setup."

Part of the motivation for seeking new administration facilities involved administrators being jammed into Ridpath Primary, not providing them as much room and as many resources as needed, but also included the desire for heightened privacy from overhearing conversations from one office to the next; not to mention taking up space that Ridpath Primary could certainly utilize.

Built in 2002 and located just across from Greencastle Middle School at 1002 Mill Pond Dr., the building seems like a custom fit for a new administration building.

The board approved the decision to make an offer, subject to completion of financing.

As per regulations, an offer on a new building for the district cannot exceed the average of two quotes ordered by the school corporation, from two completely separate entities.

No direct figure was given for what that price might be, but it equates to just over half of the cost of building a new administration facility, which would mean a substantial savings.

"It sounds like a win-win, it's got everything we want," board member Dale Pierce said.

Regardless of when, where or how much a potential new administration office will come about, the school is able to expand without additional costs to taxpayers by utilizing bond payments in the same way it goes about financing large construction projects.

"By purchasing this, what does it cost the taxpayer additionally?" vice president Denise Sigworth inquired.

"There would be no change in the taxes, no change at all," Puckett responded.

The school board also addressed some more clerical issues at its monthly meeting Monday night, approving a multitude of Neola Policy revisions, mostly minor changes.

One set of policies sets tobacco-free campus regulations but, with Greencastle schools already being 100 percent tobacco free, the district remains unaffected.

Rules and regulations regarding re-employment of administration staff received a pair of policy changes that clarify the date by which individuals must be told they will not be rehired if that situation were to arise.

Several changes in the Neola Policy which allows firearms on school grounds were also approved. The new policies extend the right to carry a concealed weapon onto school property, so long as it is concealed in the trunk of a car or locked appropriately in a vehicle, to support staff, administration and professional staff.

Puckett was sure to remind the board of the initial change in the firearms policy and the feelings of the board regarding the change.

"If you recall, this was not a policy we wanted in our hearts," she said.

Puckett also informed the board that, while GCSC had made it to the top seven candidates for an Envision Grant, that the school had not progressed to the final round of potential recipients.

The Greencastle Community School Corporation holds monthly board meetings at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. at Ridpath Primary School.

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