The Geary School Board met Monday evening in regular session. One of the first items on the agenda was dealing with the resignation of Kendra Houston from the board.
The seat will be filled by appointment temporarily, until the next school board election is held in February. The other members determined that interested residents should fill out an application and return it to the district within the next two weeks. The application will be available in person at the district office at the field house or online. The applicants will then be asked to come in for a face-to-face interview with the board members and the superintendent.
When the election rolls around, not only Houston’s seat will be available, but seat one, currently held by Afton James, will also be up for re-election.
The main topic of discussion was the rebuild of the heavily damaged high school. Superintendent Sean Buchanan said the district had received a contents reimbursement that day, but expected another similar check soon.
The district’s architects, Easley Associates, are nearing the end of the engineering work and the schematics are nearly completed, Buchanan said. The hope is to receive cost estimates on or around the middle of October. Two groups will be offered the chance to build, and the selection will come down to which one can match the dollar figure the district has to spend. This is slightly different than a new build bid process.
Additionally, the district is unsure how much it will eventually receive from the insurance company to replace the old buildings.
In this instance, Buchanan said, it will be simpler because there is no financing to be obtained or bonds to be issued. The money will be in hand when the project starts. It is also less susceptible to the impact of looming tariffs because the job should be completed, according to the architects, within 15 to 18 months of breaking ground.
The hope is to present the proposed construction to the community before the December holidays.