NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
PRETTY PRAIRIE, Kan. — Pretty Prairie USD 311 Superintendent Ashley Anderson said she and her board need to meet some more before deciding how to handle the issues that were part of a rejected $10.4 million bond issue that was voted down earlier this month.
"We're trying to get some meeting dates organized here within the next couple of weeks, that we can just kind of have some work sessions and start the discussions of what do we want to do next," Anderson said. "It was a difference of about 60 votes and so that gives us a lot of hope in terms of doing something else."
A lot of the issues deal with deferred maintenance, but there was a new gym in the rejected bond.
"We definitely have a community that doesn't want to 'lose the school'," Anderson said. "They want to be supportive. They want to help. We know that. I think we need to compromise a little bit on the overall price tag and get something done that's a little more affordable in some people's eyes."
The school buildings in Pretty Prairie have seen several generations of students go through.
"Our high school actually turns 100 next year," Anderson said. "We're right there. We've got a 70 year old other building. Our buildings are aging. Some of this stuff just happens with age, but we've got original windows in our 70 year old building. We've got things that we definitely do need to take care of, roofs being another issue."
No estimate on what the cost of a smaller bond might be has happened yet, as Anderson wants to have those work sessions with her board first.