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BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />SCHOOL BOARDS JOINT MEETING <br />September 27, 2004 <br />Major areas: <br />• Questions related to Middle School #3 <br />• Capital funding for Middle School #.3 <br />• Capital funding for Cedar Ridge High School <br />• Fund Balance/funding for special projects <br />Questions for consideration: <br />OCS purchased 67 acres for Middle School #.3 in an agreement with the BOCC, The district <br />only needs 41 acres far school construction, It was our understanding that the BOCC would <br />buy back the 26 acres not needed for the construction. When will that happen? <br />2. OCS budgeted only $524,800 for land acquisition and paid $795,000 for the purchase of the 61 <br />acres, That places us $271,000 beyond the budgeted amount for the land, What can we expect <br />regarding this additional cost? <br />3. Is there any information that you can share regarding getting water to the school site? <br />4, Smith Middle school was built approximately 5 years ago. We recognize that there has been a <br />significant rise in construction cost since that time, What can the county do to help us offset <br />the increased construction cost? __,_. <br />5, OCS selected the Smith Middle school prototype with assistance from the county to save on <br />architectural costs. Will we be assured of constructing a school structure that is comparable to <br />Smith Middle? We have already eliminated some instructional space and have shaved off the <br />school entrance canopy which changes the look of the building. <br />6, How do we benefit from the use of "Smart Growth" principles? The natural day lighting <br />feature is an important sustainable system for the model, but the cost to us will be about $1.8 <br />million dollars, With our construction costs being estimated at $2,7 million over the budgeted <br />amount this could potentially be the first thing to go in order to maintain classroom space. <br />7. Our fund balance is the only funding source we are aware of that our district has for major <br />start-up costs for Middle School #3. Though we understand the BOCC's concern about <br />excessive reserve amounts, we would like to know if there is some other funding source <br />available to us, <br />8, Where is the BOCC at this point on the OCBOE request to have the method for repaying the <br />CRHS debt reconsidered? <br />/pmc <br />