District ask voters to ok bond to build school

The school-zone signs look a little out of place on a flat, dirt road that goes for miles.

But there it is — Edison School.

Edison School District 54 Jt serves about 160 students. Roughly 125 of them go to school in the building on Edison Road. The rest are enrolled in an online academy the district started six years ago.

This year, voters will decide whether to raise taxes to build an elementary school in the eastern plains district.

The school, which would be built southeast of the current building, would cost about $2.4 million. Residents would have to provide $450,000, which includes the match the district is required to put up to obtain funding from the state.

The $450,000 bond would pay the match, plus $45,000 for upgrades to the auditorium and $3,000 to $4,000 to remove asbestos in the school.

Because of the many types of land taxpayers own in Edison, Superintendent Dave Grosche hasn’t calculated how much the tax increase would be, he said. But he said he’ll calculate it for individual property owners if they call the school at 478-2125.

A new school would provide more room, said Cynthia Yoder, the school’s literacy coordinator. She often pulls students into small groups to work with them on reading.

“It’s hard to find a room,” she said.

The district has been creative in finding space. A foyer outside the gymnasium is where students eat lunch, but they do it in three shifts, Grosche said, because there’s not enough room for everyone.

The library, for now, is in an old teacher’s house behind the school, with a computer in the kitchen and stacks of books wherever there’s room.

It’s substandard, he said, “but that’s what I’ve got.”

An additional school would help separate older and younger students. Elementary classes are generally on one side of the building’s single hallway, and secondary classes are on the other, Grosche said. Everyone shares a bathroom.

If the whole school is in the hallway at one time, said Principal Rachel Paul, there’s always a chance a backpack will knock someone over because there isn’t enough room.

High school students must watch their language and “public displays of affection” a lot more closely than other high school students, Grosche said, because it’s likely there’s a 5-year-old nearby.

If the tax question passes, the district would break ground in March and start using the new building in the second semester of the 2008-09 school year.

Grosche plans to ask for 9 acres of state land to build the new elementary.

He said he didn’t know whether the State Land Board will give the land to the school district or require officials to buy it.

“I’d like it for free,” he said.

A surveyor came in August, Grosche said, and found part of the gymnasium and a set of portable buildings are already on the state property.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0394 or shari.griffin@gazette.com

Edison School District 54 Jt

2006-07 enrollment: 155 students

Test scores: There are typically too few students in Edison for the state to release Colorado Student Assessment Program scores, but officials said 79 percent of students in grades three through 10 score proficient or advanced in reading on CSAP tests.

2006-07 demographics: 11 percent minority students; 34 percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunches

The ballot question: The tax increase would provide 16 percent of the money needed for a new elementary school, improvements to the auditorium and asbestos removal. The rest of the money would come from the state.

Total cost: $450,000

Cost to taxpayers per month: Varies depending on the type of land. Call Dave Grosche at 478-2125 with specific questions.