(Spirit Lake)– They say looks can be deceiving and you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Leaders in the Spirit Lake Community Schools say that also holds true for most of the district’s facilities. Superintendent Dr. David Smith says many people who have toured the buildings say they had no idea of the scope of the concerns because things look so good from the outside…
“We’ve got a lot of really good people that care about the facilities and take care of the grounds and we’ve had a lot of private money fund a lot of things on the outside that make it look really cool and really special. We made a couple of recent additions with the preschool and early childhood and the new office area and a little bit of modernization to the entrances, so people have a false impression that everything looks like that. You see this beautiful Sami Center and you walk in here and it’s like wow, unbelievable. But part of our high school is 1959 and it’s old and outdated and outside its life expectancy and when we show people that they see firsthand what we’re talking about. They know we’re not exaggerating. They can see it themselves. Take them through the elementary, the look at the lights, they look at the ceilings, they look at the shape of the classrooms.”
The School Board voted 5-0 Wednesday evening to move ahead with the next step of bringing a $69.9 million bond issue to the voters. The action followed a public hearing Wednesday evening. Of the 20 or so people who spoke, no one expressed opposition to the proposal. The district is now gathering signatures for a petition that would officially put the matter on the ballot November 3rd.
In the meantime, Dr. Smith urges those who have not yet toured the facilities to do so. Tours can be arranged by contacting any of the various offices.
