By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post
The architects involved in the proposed $100 million in improvements to Hays USD 489 buildings will be at the Oct. 27 board meeting to answer questions and provide guidance on how to communicate the district’s needs to the public, Superintendent Dean Katt said at Monday’s school board meeting.
Katt said representatives from HTK Architects, Topeka, will discuss the possibility of the three-year phase-in of improvements, the financial piece of the projects and offer suggestions on educating on the public on why upgrades are needed.
Though the bond issue election to fund the projects tentatively is planned for November 2015, Katt said it is important the board and administration does not procrastinate.
“It sounds like a long time, but it really isn’t. We have a lot of work to do. I think this (meeting) will be the first step as far as getting them involved,” Katt said. “We had talked about a survey. … We really need to get the information out to the public and educate them and then try to do a survey and see how we want to proceed.”
The proposed improvements were recommended by the district’s 10-member Facility Needs Committee, which spent two years studying each building in the district.
The recommendations include short-, middle- and long-term goals to improve safety and space issues, according to the FNC report.