White River Unified District considers school renovations

This story by Liz Sauchelli was first published in the Valley News on August 22.

SOUTH ROYALTON — Bethel and Royalton residents could vote this fall on a multi-million dollar bond for renovations to White River Valley High School, including a performing arts center and expanded workshop classroom space.

Although White River Unified District School Board members are still working out the details — including how much money to borrow — they hope to bring the project to a vote on Nov. 5, the day of the presidential election.

The current plan calls for around $6.8 million, with about $4.1 million going toward a new performing arts center to support the school’s choir, band and drama programs, according to a proposal presented by the board during a public hearing Tuesday night.

Other upgrades would include the HVAC systems in the high school library and science rooms; upgrading the elementary gymnasium’s sound, lighting and stage systems where older students also perform; improving the storm water system near the gym; and adding a 1,000-square-foot addition to the workshop space. The proposal also includes building secure entrances and vestibules at White River Valley Middle School in Bethel and the district’s Bethel elementary school campus, in addition to the high school.

“There’s quite a bit of work in the scope of that proposed budget,” White River Valley Supervisory Union Superintendent Jamie Kinnarney said in a phone interview before Tuesday night’s meeting.

Only Bethel and Royalton residents would pay for the bond; other towns in the supervisory union would not be on the hook.

In addition to a bond, funding would come from at least three different sources.

• The district’s music boosters have raised more than $500,000 and have a goal of raising $1.2 million to put toward the performing arts center.

• District officials are in the process of seeking grants, particularly for security improvements.

• There also is $2.1 million in the capital improvement fund. School board members still are considering how much of that they want to use for the renovations.

“I think it’s going to be sticker shock regardless,” School Board member Peggy Ainsworth, of Royalton, said during the meeting.

The School Board is planning to meet Tuesday, Sept. 10, to finalize those details, including which parts of the project they want to pursue and how much they want to ask for from voters for a 20-year bond to fund the project. Members hope to approve a warrant for the bond vote during the board’s Tuesday, Sept. 17, meeting. If the warrant is approved, the bond vote would take place Tuesday, Nov. 5, during general election voting.

They are trying to decide between a roughly $4 million bond and one that is closer to $6 million. Kinnarney said during the meeting that it was too soon to say what the projected tax rate will be, but that the baord will provide those numbers to voters in the near future.

“To me there seems to be a big difference between $6.5 million and $4.1 million,” board member Nancy Pejouhy said. She also added that people seem to have heard only about the performing arts center and not other aspects of the project.

Royalton voters approved a $3.88 million bond issue in September 2007 to build a new gym at what was then called South Royalton School. When Bethel and Royalton voters chose to combine their two school districts into one in 2017, residents in both towns took on the debt. They are currently in the last few years of paying off the bond and will pay $190,000 per year through 2029, Kinnarney said.

The district’s enrollment numbers have been climbing, according to data provided in the presentation. This year, 231 students will attend the high school when classes begin next week, including 70 students in the sophomore class.

“That’s one of the largest cohorts we’ve had,” Kinnarney said. “We also see this as a way for us to attract students.”

Like other high schools in Vermont, White River Valley High School competes for students who come from districts that don’t operate or designate schools for some grades.

A lot of focus has been put on the performing arts center because of the cost and the needs. According to data provided by the district, there are 55 students in band and 20 students in chorus for the incoming school year.

“I would estimate over 40% of our students are involved in performing arts,” Kinnarney said. “It’s a pretty rich history when you add drama on top of it as well.”

During the public hearing, district officials said the performing arts center was not just a matter of space — it was a matter of safety. Music students currently rehearse in a space that is detrimental to their hearing.

“Rehearsal space has very little acoustical treatment, leading to unsafe sound levels,” School Board Chairman Andrew Jones said during the public hearing portion of the meeting.

At the beginning of class, choral and band students must set up their chairs, stands and instruments then put them away at the end of the period.

“This cuts into our learning time and with the new PAC, this set up would be able to remain so we can begin class as soon as the bell rings,” Amber Finch, who is entering her third year of teaching choral students at both the middle and high school, wrote in an email. “The new ensemble rehearsal room would have a setup for chorus and a setup for the band, so students can easily enter the classroom and begin rehearsal immediately.”

The new space also would allow students to practice closer to the stage where they perform: Currently they must move all of their instruments and other supplies up a flight of stairs and to the gym, which is across the building from their rehearsal space, Finch said. There also would be smaller practice rooms for students who take band and voice lessons throughout the school day.

“Our current practice rooms are not soundproof and so having lessons throughout the day is a disruption to the music classes that are occurring in the music room,” Finch wrote.

Another part of the plan calls for improvements to the stage. Currently, the school must rent sound and lighting systems when staging theater productions, as well as professionals to operate the equipment.

“This is a great cost to the school district each time we have a need for this,” Finch wrote. “The new performance space would have a major acoustical upgrade and a tiered seating system which would provide the audience with the ability to see and hear their students in a much more pleasing and aesthetically appealing environment.”

In terms of the tech education program, there are 48 students taking a tech education class in the new school year.

“The current shop and welding space really limits the number of students, the size and scope of possible projects,” Jones said.

There is not enough space for multiple students to work on larger projects such as building furniture and working on car engines. There is also only one welding station.

“There’s a lot more demand than that can satisfy,” Jones said. “We’d expect this demand for these programs to continue to grow.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: White River Unified District considers school renovations .