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East Marshall board reviews building needs, Gilman options and bond timing with architects
Summary
Board members met with FH Architects to review urgent high-school maintenance needs, discuss Gilman's future, and weigh whether to pursue a November bond or await a pending FEMA mitigation grant while ramping up community outreach and facilities-committee engagement.
Board members of the East Marshall Community School District met in a work session with FH Architects to review maintenance and capital options, including an aging high-school wing that leaks and large south-facing windows that are rusting out, and to weigh whether to re-run a bond referendum this November.
The architects said the high-school's 1920s section is showing water intrusion and that the 50-year-old windows are leaking at the head of the frames. "They are 50 years old, so they've certainly had their lifespan," the FH Architect said, noting the difference in skill set required to replace large windows versus completing a small boiler-room repair. Board members discussed whether to bundle window replacement with a boiler-room project or treat them as separate procurements.
Why it matters: the district faces short-term maintenance bills (the architect cited tuckpointing quotes exceeding $100,000 for the Gilman building) while also planning potential long-term actions through a bond. The board discussed a previous bond effort and whether to place a new referendum on the ballot in November or delay to wait on a pending federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program application that could fund a storm shelter.
Board members emphasized the need for concrete community-facing plans before asking voters again. "I think the lack of a concrete plan of what was going to happen in Gilman was a major downfall to voters," a board member said, urging renewed facilities-committee work and broader outreach. The board discussed options for Gilman ranging from preserving the gym and community spaces to partial demolition or repurposing as a shared CTE center.
The session also covered communications and outreach tactics: a targeted survey for facilities-committee members, a dedicated bond-information web page, coordinated local newspaper notices and use of parent portals or text alerts to reach different demographic groups. Board members discussed the timing and content of petition and ballot language (petition deadline referenced as Sept. 15) and the need to refine estimates with the district's finance advisor.
Next steps: the board directed staff to reconvene the facilities committee, reach out for community input (including a short Google-form survey), secure updated cost estimates and a recent engineering assessment for buildings, and meet with the district's finance advisor to refresh borrowing capacity and soft-cost estimates. The board also asked staff to pursue an insurer loss-control review and to return with more precise numbers before making a final decision on whether to place a bond on the November ballot.
