By SYLVIA LOBATO
LA JARA — The North Conejos School District (NCSD) will be seeking  Buld Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant to replace Centauri High School.
The Board of Education said "It's time" and directed administration to begin developing a district master plan specifically geared to build a new high school through a state grant.
A critical component of that goal, the master plan marks the initial phase of the entire process.
NCSD will work with the architects of Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, which  designed Cortez High School, in the coming months to complete a comprehensive and well-designed master plan, obtain a BEST grant and work jointly with the district until the Colorado State Board of Education approves the grant application in April 2019.
 
Details
The following information is to communicate with transparency and clarity the status, details and information to the community at large concerning the construction of a new high school, with many opportunities presented in the future to answer questions and elicit input from all stakeholders in the NCSD community.
As details, community meetings and design information becomes available, the community will be updated to insure everyone is not only on the same page, but can be updated with developments.
 NCSD reports DPS architects are finalizing the current CHS Facilities Condition Index (FCI), which places a number corresponding to the current high school condition with respect to safety, alignment with various codes from electricity and plumbing to ADA compliance, cost of refurbishment compared to building new, etc. Our last state assessment gives the high school a number in the high 70’s, and it is expected that the latest FCI will be at or over 80, which is certainly high. Many schools are replaced with a number far lower than our current assessment, and the latest, updated condition index will be published as soon as it is received. The community deserves to see the condition index to evaluate for themselves the need to go forth, as CHS is now 54 years old and current cost of repairs and cost of replacing heat, electrical, and other systems is now a critical factor in the decision to go forth.
DPS architects' next step in the process is to meet with current CHS faculty to elicit their needs and ideas; this begins Sept. 11th. Also, DPS looks at enrollment trends, current enrollment, class size and other factors. Rather than presenting a pre-fabricated high school package, DPS intelligently utilizes a variety of strategies to design a building that meets the needs of our community and the needed learning environment to prepare our kids, and grandchildren, for the 21st century and its demands. Moreover, the use of drones for pictures/measurements/details and geographic information of the current layout are considered to present ideas about the location, size and design of a new high school. Whether building on the current site or a new site is more logical, and details about how a new school would work with other facilities will be available for community stakeholder input.
The most critical component for most people is the ultimate impact on each family’s property taxes and overall cost, and understandably so. The BEST grant requires a district match of roughly 40 percent; however, the grant process sought also includes a waiver of that percentage as by state statute, a district can only be held to its bonding capacity. That capacity for our school community currently sits is at roughly 6.2 million, which when considering a high school at approximately 30 million cost TBA as the process of designing around needs with input from community and staff is currently underway is much less than a matching percentage of 40 percent (roughly $12 million). Thus, the reason why the goal of not only getting a BEST grant but a waiver is the goal, as $6.2 million is certainly more feasible than $30 million or $12 million in match percentage, for taxpayers and community families.
Workshops for community members will be announced in the coming weeks as the master plan process moves forth.
The NCSD enthusiastically looks forward to working with our community in the design, application and ultimately deciding on a path to meet the needs of our most precious commodity, the children.





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Patrick Van Hoesen What would happen to the existing high school if a new one is built elsewhere?
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Nikol Kelley I hope that the BEST grant goes through. Our students deserve a nice school. The high school has seved the community well but it is time to replace it.

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Karl Keller Great news!
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North Conejos School District
12 hrs ·
Throughout this week, a CDOT crew will be working on the entrance from Highway 285 to the middle school and high school complex. Please be patient as there may be delays at times during the day as they implement and paint a new traffic pattern in an effort to make the entrance safer for students, staff and our community. Thank you.
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North Conejos School District
September 15 at 2:44 PM ·
Crews were back in action today and have the first finish coat on the track. Gotta love all this red!


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48Donald Valdez and 47 others
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Melanie Martinez That’s so awesome! When I ran on that track I sprained my ankles many times on rocks!
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North Conejos School District
September 12 at 5:51 PM ·
CHS
Support the falcons this weekend! Football Friday at home vs Olathe at 7:00. Volleyball Saturday at home beginning at 9am vs Monte and Cortez. Cross Country is in Gunnison Saturday morning. GO FALCONS!
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Camille Sorensen Sowards Score??
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North Conejos School District
September 12 at 3:42 PM ·
Just a quick view of progress:


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Nina Martinez How Pretty, Pretty, Pretty!
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North Conejos School District
September 10 at 4:37 PM ·
Manassa Elementary welcomed the Creede Repertory Theatre performance «Seeds of Change.» This humorous performance helped show students the importance of taking care of the earth!







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36Patrick Van Hoesen, Curt Wilson and 34 others
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Kristi Johnston Anderson My son came home talking about it. He said it was so funny. Thank you for bringing them in for our kids
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Sylvia Gutierrez
[email protected]
(719) 588-8825