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Gearing up for school renovation By Vicki Guarino CENTRAL POINT � With the money almost in the bank, school district officials are turning their attention to exactly how nearly $30 million in building improvements will be done. Although plans are far from certain at this point, officials hope students will be able to move into the first of the new classrooms at the start of the next school year. "That would be a goal," Central Point schools Superintendent Candy Manary said Thursday, "but I don�t know whether that�s possible or not. "We have a preliminary time line, but it�s pretty broad at this point. We�re still gathering data.�� Central Point School District voters last week approved a $29.8 million bond measure to build a new elementary school and expand three other schools. The plan includes relocating the transportation department and administration offices. The bond will be repaid over 20 years with a tax assessment of up to $1.85 per $1,000 assessed valuation. The district has been working on the rebuilding plan for several years, and twice failed to obtain voter approval. With the win in last week�s special election, district officials are working to obtain the cash through a bond sale scheduled for mid-October. The sale is expected to be completed by Oct. 24. From the time of the sale, the district will have 36 months to have the project "substantially complete" under Internal Revenue Service rules, Manary said. Between the sale and the project�s completion, however, much is uncertain. In addition to the bond sale next month, the district will be hiring a project manager and architect. "Then we�ll get down to the nitty-gritty of planning," Manary said. Projects will have to be tightly coordinated to accommodate both the classroom needs of the district during the school year, and the various project requirements. For example, Crater High School�s 10-classroom expansion can�t be started until buses and administration offices are moved. And offices can�t move until the original portion of Central Point Elementary is renovated for the office space. The elementary, the district�s oldest school, will be replaced with a new building on school grounds. Other classroom buildings now in use will be torn down. Other projects are simpler. Manary said Mae Richardson Elementary School�s five-classroom expansion might be completed by the start of school next fall. "But that is very preliminary right now," Manary cautioned. Other work planned over the coming three years includes a new greenhouse, auditorium and student center at Crater, and new classrooms and cafeteria at Hanby Middle School in Gold Hill. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA