LA JARA — North Conejos School Superintendent Curt Wilson has provided an update on efforts to replace Centauri High School with a BEST grant.
The Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant application has been submitted to the Colorado Department of Education, with notification of approval or decline slated for late April or early May.
According to Wilson, if successful, the North Conejos School District (NCSD) has already received a statutory waiver, reducing the amount of taxpayer contribution from 49 percent of the total cost of a new building (BEST’s matching percentage for NCSD), to 20.947847 percent.
With the waiver, instead of a new building constructed at a cost of $15,726,750.90, the usual 49 percent match), the cost would be $6,419,082, a significant reduction.
The current facility sits at an FCI (Facilities Condition Index, the calculation of what it would take to refurbish the current complex to code as compared to new) is 84 percent.
The decision by our public on whether to approve the district match and proceed with an update to the district buildings, this time at Centauri High School with the reduced amount, would occur at the polls in November.
For more info, contact Wilson at 274-5174.