Board advances bond outreach; Blue Oval grant could fund high-school fabrication lab

The Harper Creek Board received an update on bond planning and facility priorities and heard that a corporate grant could fund a high-school fabrication lab.

Superintendent Ridgeway said the bond steering committee is meeting regularly and will hold community meetings to collect input, starting Nov. 5 at Sonoma Elementary with tentative additional meetings Nov. 12 at Beedle Lake and Nov. 19 at Wild Spark Elementary. Ridgeway said he hopes to return to the board in January with a recommendation on whether to place a bond before voters.

Ridgeway told the board the steering and community outreach has identified a range of priorities: classroom projectors and document cameras, full Wi-Fi upgrades, small but visible repairs (for example, adding an operable window in the press box so the district could host marching-band festivals), and accessibility fixes such as replacing classroom toilets where needed.

On programming, Ridgeway said Blue Oval plans to fund a fabrication lab for the high school, providing equipment and about 2.5 years of professional development to implement project-based learning. "Blue Oval is going to give us a grant, to build what they call a fab lab...it's about a 70 to 80,000 dollar grant," Ridgeway said. The district will identify a location and work with staff on implementation.

Facilities director Mister Robinson reported the donor-supported weight room project is near completion: flooring installed, equipment arriving, a ribbon-cutting planned and an opening expected by the end of the week. Robinson also noted new state rules on storm-drainage certifications will present additional costs for building compliance.

Next steps: superintendent to continue community outreach, identify bond priorities and return with a formal recommendation in January; staff to map costs and locations for the fab lab and report back on any grant terms.