Discussion of renovating the high school was not explicitly on the agenda for the Madison Central School Board's first meeting of AY2012, but it came up. During the appointment of the standing committees, superintendent Vince Schaefer said he wants the building and capital outlay committees to meet before the next regular board meeting in August to talk about how to fix up the high school.
Superintendent Schaefer is eyeing the possibility of putting out bids for construction at the beginning of 2012. That relatively soon start date suggests that Schaefer may be thinking of some small-scale upgrades that could be done within the current capital outlay budget, without a public vote. That would be a much more practical approach than trying to refight a campaign for the luxury gym that voters defeated last winter.
Also making an appearance not anticipated on the agenda was the man who drew up that boondoggle gym, architect Jeff Nelson of Sioux Falls. News reports of the meeting do not indicate whether he mentioned any of the renovation suggestions he has received since the March 28 public meeting on the topic. He did tell the board that the economy is picking up (Obama rules! Four more years!) and contractors are getting busier. He also says we can expect contractors to factor in a 4% increase in their bids from year to year... which alongside with the education funding cuts that Senator Russell Olson celebrates will naturally behoove us to be all the more frugal and practical in our building plan.